Dunlap: Letang Should Have Been Suspended
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - What I'm about to say probably won't be popular among Penguins fans.
But what I'm about to say should be popular among those who are clear thinkers, when you really put your biases aside and reason with your head and not with your heart.
Ready?
Here goes: Kris Letang --- or Kristopher Letang if you are named Pierre and work in network TV --- shouldn't be eligible to participate in Game 4 when the Penguins and Rangers resume their series on Thursday night.
He should be suspended.
He should be in street clothes.
He should be out.
Letang isn't a bad guy, not in the least. From what I know of the man, he's a well-respected person who does a lot for charity and, Lord knows, we all understand the distresses he's been through in a life that hasn't even hit 30 years yet.
But he should, however, be made to suffer a consequence as a result of what appeared to be an egregious and downright hazardous act in Game 3 against the Rangers when --- whatever the real circumstances and intent were --- his stick hammered Viktor Stalberg's chin area like a piñata.
It was reported Stalberg lost a couple teeth.
It is fact that Letang was not penalized and also won't face any discipline from the league.
It is also explained away, by some, that Letang was off-balance or that the butt end of his stick was caught in the stanchion or that for some reason, this was wholly unintentional.
I'm sorry, I can't buy any of it, or at the very least I will meet you here --- it is his responsibility to be in control on his stick at all times and if Letang isn't he must be made to pay a penance.
The play was one that was pent-up anger coming to the surface at worst or a moment of recklessly and cavalierly carrying a hockey stick at best and, for either one, there needs to be castigation in the form of a one-game suspension.
But there won't be, which isn't unexpected from the NHL. And remember, Kris Letang really isn't the bad guy in all of this, the NHL is.
Why, you ask?
Because plays like this have happened and will continue to happen in the NHL without players being made to face a suspension. It doesn't seem logical on any level or from any vantage that a man should be able to hit another man the way Letang did Stalberg and get off free.
But that's the way the NHL's Neanderthals think far too often --- not the guys playing the game, but the ones governing the game.
They are the ones who could really make a difference and, it seems perpetually, they refuse to step in and do so for some reason.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can email him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
