Andy Sutton Suspended 8 Games For Hit On Alexei Ponikarovsky

by Derek Zona on Dec 10, 2011 10:36 PM MST in News

Brendan Shanahan's decision has come down - Andy Sutton will sit for eight games as a result of his hit on Alexei Ponikarovsky - a play where the 6'4" Sutton left his feet to hit Ponikarovsky in the head. 8 games is in line with what was expected for this type of infraction and Sutton's status.

The effects on the Oilers remain to be seen - they've been without Sutton for an extended period once already this season and have relied on Colten Teubert and Theo Peckham to fill the void. They've not been able to do so effectively and as a result have forced Tom Renney to lean on Tom Gilbert and Ladislav Smid to an even greater degree.

Sutton's extended detention may be mitigated by the return of Corey Potter from injury. Potter is a week away from rejoining the team, and though he's not been utilized on the penalty kill to any degree, the combination of Potter playing 20 minutes per game and Ryan Whitney regaining his feet should be enough to fill the hole left by Sutton's suspension.

As for Sutton, the suspension isn't going to have an effect on his game - Sutton has demonstrated a proclivity for these types of hits regardless of the punishment.

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Shanahan the Expert

Sutton has now been suspended for 13 games this season, totaling over $264,000 of salary. To put 8 games in perspective, that’s 10% of the season for a single hit.

I appreciate that players want to play with grit and establish a strong physical presence. Sutton needs to understand that a strong physical game does not necessitate illegal hits. I’m not convinced that suspensions are getting the message across, but what would the next step be?

by JProulx on Dec 10, 2011 10:10 PM MST reply actions

If he would just bend his friggin knees and use some of the power from his legs for a shoulder to shoulder or shoulder to chest hit he could run these guys through the boards and it would still be legal. Why is this so damn hard for players like him to understand?

by gcw_rocks on Dec 11, 2011 8:26 AM MST up reply actions

they’ve been without Sutton for an extended period once already this season

Twice, actually. This is the third extended absence. Two suspensions, one groin injury.

All of sudden Kurtis Foster is looking better than he did.

Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.

by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 11, 2011 1:14 AM MST reply actions

he combination of Potter playing 20 minutes per game and Ryan Whitney regaining his feet

That’s presuming that Ryan Whitney still has feet to regain. Sadly, I feat that this may not be the case.

by Yeti# on Dec 11, 2011 6:54 AM MST reply actions

Stupid thing that maybe only I noticed: three different recordings for the summary slide, and three wildly different audio qualities, one of which sounds like Shanny has a head cold. Jesus, doesn’t the NHL employ a sound editor somewhere?

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by Doogie2K on Dec 11, 2011 1:14 PM MST reply actions

No amount of sound editing is going to make Shanahan sound interesting.

by JProulx on Dec 11, 2011 3:48 PM MST up reply actions

Well, sure, but they can at least make him sound the same.

by Doogie2K on Dec 11, 2011 10:31 PM MST up reply actions

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