Ovechkin Fined for Slew Foot
While Alexander Ovechkin might have avoided a suspension for slew-footing Thrashers’ forward Rich Peverley on Thursday, he was fined an “undisclosed” amount of money.
There was also a minor penalty on the play that drew parallels to a recent similar play in which Anaheim’s Evgeni Artyukhin was suspended three games for slew-footing Dallas Stars’ defenceman Matt Niskanen. The league was quick to draw up the differences, however, with Colin Campbell saying that Artyukhin was a repeat offender and that Niskanen was injured on the play.
“It is unfair to draw any parallels [about the two slew-foot incidents] other than the players that [Ovechkin and Artyukhin] tripped both fell down,” Campbell told NHL.com.
There is a sense among some fans that Artyukhin was being treated differently than Ovechkin because of Ovie’s superstar status. While that may be true, I’m not overly convinced. There is a difference between the plays and Artyukhin is a different sort of play; he should be addressed accordingly and first-time offenders should also be addressed with that in mind.
Ovechkin isn’t a known offender, although he certainly will have the stain of the slew-foot on his record now as all NHL fines remain part of permanent records. He will be watched more closely and, should he do something like this again, one can bet he’ll be suspended or treated more harshly.
Of course, a similar parallel would be that of Evgeni Malkin. Already known as “Slew Foot” Malkin in some circles, his slew-footing of Paul Mara during last year’s playoffs drove Don Cherry crazy and was a much more dangerous play to boot. And there was his cheap shot hit to the Kings’ Wayne Simmonds from last year, too, and the lack of suspension for fighting Henrik Zetterberg in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
One could argue that Malkin has been treated differently with more vigour than one could argue that Ovechkin has been treated differently, as Geno is certainly piling up a reputation as a bit of a cheap shot artist and has yet to be suspended while Ovechkin tends to favour the cleaner side of things and has yet to provide much of a case for suspension (with the exception of the Danny Briere hit, maybe).
Still, the angle that the National Hockey League is treating its elite players differently in the disciplinary process is well worth examination. With the example of Malkin, it is almost certain that some special treatment is taking place. His reputation and the severity of his actions should have warranted stiffer penalties.
In the case of Ovechkin, however, the situation remains different for the time being. But if the NHL wants to prove that it is a model of fairness in its disciplinary process, it will need to set a stronger example for the public and the press.
Posted by Jordan Richardson.
Tags: alex ovechkin, evgeni malkin, fined, slew foot