Violence in ice hockey

This article is about uniformly illegal violent acts in ice hockey. For condoned fighting, see Fighting in ice hockey.

Linesmen attempt to break up a fight around the Tampa Bay goal during the first ice hockey playoff game between the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Violence has been a part of ice hockey since at least the early 1900s. According to the book Hockey: A People's History, in 1904 alone, four players were killed during hockey games from the frequent brawls and violent stickwork.

More modern examples of violence include brawls, fan involvement, physical abuse of officials and deliberately injuring opponents. Violent actions such as kicking, hitting from behind and prohibited stickwork, are penalized with suspensions or fines. Fighting, or fisticuffs, is also penalized but is considered by many hockey enthusiasts, particularly in North America, to be quite distinct from stick-swinging or other violent acts. They regard fighting as an entrenched, acceptable and an integral part of the game.

On the ice, referees may impose penalties for prohibited activities. Off the ice, the National Hockey League (NHL) sometimes fines, suspends or expels players. The criminal justice system has also been known to investigate, charge and convict players. As a result, hockey has become much more regulated and the violent element much more controlled. This has been aided, in no small part, by dramatic increases in disciplinary processes and technology allowing for a high level of scrutiny of any event which occurs.

History

Early hockey in particular was noted for its extreme violence, to the point where two players were killed in three years during brawls. In both cases, the accused assailants were acquitted, but these and other bloody incidents led to calls for the sport to clean up its act or be banned along with the likes of cockfighting. The worst of the violence waned, particularly with the advent of regulations for quasi-legal fisticuffs, though incidents continue to occur from time to time.

Billy Coutu was the first, and to date only, player banned from the NHL for life for violence in 1927; he assaulted referee Jerry Laflamme and tackled referee Billy Bell before starting a bench-clearing brawl during a Stanley Cup game between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators, apparently on the orders of Bruins Head Coach Art Ross. The NHL's first president, Frank Calder, expelled Coutu from the NHL for life; the ban was lifted after two-and-a-half years, but Coutu never played in the NHL again.

Other incidents include the December 12, 1933, event when Eddie Shore rammed Toronto Maple Leafs star Ace Bailey from behind, causing Bailey to strike his head on the ice; Bailey never played hockey again. More recently, controversy and criminal charges have resulted from violent attacks by Marty McSorley, Todd Bertuzzi and Chris Simon.

Players who are banned in the American Hockey League (AHL) for violence are not permitted in the ECHL, and vice versa, because of their agreements with the Professional Hockey Players' Association.

In January 2012, David Johnston, the Governor General of Canada, said that violence such as headshots, high-sticking and fighting should not be part of the sport.

Reports investigating violence

There have been two major Canadian reports on violence in hockey. In 1974, William McMurtry provided a report for the Government of Ontario entitled Investigation and Inquiry into Violence in Amateur Hockey. In 2000, Bernie Pascall prepared a report for the Government of British Columbia entitled Eliminating Violence in Hockey.

On-ice incidents resulting in charges

• 1905 – Allan Loney was charged with manslaughter in the on-ice clubbing death of Alcide Laurin. Loney claimed self-defence, and was found not guilty.
• 1907 – Ottawa Senators players Harry Smith, Alf Smith and Charles Spittal were charged with assault after beating Montreal Wanderers players Hod Stuart, Ernie "Moose" Johnson and Cecil Blatchford with their sticks.
• 1907 – Ottawa Victorias player Charles Masson was charged with manslaughter after Cornwall player Owen McCourt died of a head wound sustained in a brawl. Masson was found not guilty on the grounds that there was no way to know which blow had killed McCourt.
• 1922 – Sprague Cleghorn injured three Ottawa Senators players in a brawl, leading Ottawa police to offer to arrest him.
• 1969 – In a pre-season game held in Ottawa, Ted Green of the Boston Bruins and Wayne Maki of the St. Louis Blues engaged in a violent, stick-swinging brawl. A fractured skull and brain damage caused Green to miss the entire 1969–70 season. The NHL suspended Maki for 30 days and Green for 13 games. Both men were acquitted in court.
• 1975 – Dan Maloney of the Detroit Red Wings was charged with assault causing bodily harm after he attacked Brian Glennie of the Toronto Maple Leafs from behind. In exchange for a no-contest plea, Maloney did community service work and was banned from playing in Toronto for two seasons.
• 1975 – Police charged Bruins player Dave Forbes with aggravated assault after a fight with Henry Boucha of the Minnesota North Stars. After a nine-day trial ended with a hung jury, charges against Forbes were dropped. Boucha suffered blurred vision from the incident and never fully recovered.
• 1976 – Philadelphia Flyers players Joe Watson, Mel Bridgman, Don Saleski and Bob "Hound" Kelly were charged with assault after using their hockey sticks as weapons in a violent playoff game between the Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs in which fans had been taunting the Flyers players and spitting at them. Bridgman was acquitted, but the other three Flyers were found guilty of simple assault.
• 1976 – Calgary Cowboys forward Rick Jodzio plead guilty to a charge of assault following a cross-check to the head of Quebec Nordiques player Marc Tardif during the World Hockey Association (WHA) playoffs. The hit led to a 20-minute bench clearing brawl.
• 1977 – Dave "Tiger" Williams of the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the Pittsburgh Penguins' Dennis Owchar with his stick. He was charged with assault, but acquitted.
• 1982 – Jimmy Mann of the Winnipeg Jets left the bench and sucker-punched Pittsburgh Penguin Paul Gardner, breaking Gardner's jaw in two places. Mann was fined $500 and given a suspended sentence in Winnipeg.
• 1988 – Dino Ciccarelli hit Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Richardson with his stick. Charged and convicted of assault, he was sentenced to one day in jail and fined $1,000.
• 1992 – Enrico Ciccone of the IHL's Kalamazoo Wings was arrested on a battery charge after San Diego Gulls photographer Essy Ghavameddini was cut and received a deep bruise below his left eye that required stitches. Ciccone assaulted him after entering the penalty box where Ghavameddini was photographing the game from.
• 1998 – Jesse Boulerice of the Plymouth Whalers was suspended for the rest of the playoffs after violently swinging his stick at Guelph Storm forward Andrew Long. Boulerice was charged with assault as a result of the incident.
• 2000 – Marty McSorley of the Boston Bruins hit Vancouver Canuck Donald Brashear in the head with his stick in the waning moments of the game, after losing a fight to Brashear earlier in the game. McSorley was convicted of assault with a weapon and given an 18-month conditional discharge.
• 2004 – In the Todd Bertuzzi–Steve Moore incident, Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks sucker-punched Moore of the Colorado Avalanche in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. The pair then fell to the ice with Bertuzzi's weight crushing Moore face-first into the ice, followed by several players from both teams further piling onto the mêlée. Moore sustained three fractured vertebrae, a grade three concussion, vertebral ligament damage, stretching of the brachial plexus nerves and facial lacerations. Bertuzzi was charged by police and given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm. His suspension resulted in a loss of $500,000 in pay and the Canucks were fined $250,000. Bertuzzi was re-instated in 2005, after a 20 game suspension and an international ban during the 2004-05 lockout season. A civil suit filed by Moore, seeking CAD$68 million in damages and loss of income, was settled on August 19, 2014. The terms of this settlement are confidential.
• 2015 - During the warm up before a qualifier to the SHL, André Deveaux from Rögle BK assaulted Västerås IK's unsuspecting Per Helmersson. Deveaux swung his stick and slashed Helmersson twice. The attack was retaliation for a hit from behind by Helmersson in the game before, which Deveaux claimed caused him a minor concussion. Both players could complete both games, and Deveaux was only disciplined after the game. Deveaux was charged for the attack, but the charges were later dropped.

Sources

• Arrest Mars Gulls Game. Los Angeles Times. 8 November 1992 Accessed at [1] on 13 January 2016.
• A brief history of stick violence. CBC. 6 October 2000. Accessed at [2] on 19 July 2004.
• History of criminal charges on ice. Canadian Press. 24 June 2004. Accessed at [3] on 19 July 2004.
• McKinley, Michael: "Hockey: A People's History". McClelland & Stewart, 2006.

Longest suspensions

All of these incidents are in the NHL of the United States and Canada, unless noted otherwise.

Name	Team	Length	Date	Offense
Damir Ryspayev	Barys Astana (KHL)	Banned for life	August 2016	Initiated a violent bench-clearing brawl against Tomáš Marcinko and other players from Red Star Kunlun during a preseason game
Billy Coutu	Boston Bruins	2 1/2 years	April 1927	assaulted referee Jerry Laflamme, tackled referee Billy Bell and started a Stanley Cup bench-clearing brawl, apparently on the orders of coach Art Ross (Originally banned for life, but penalty was commuted after two-and-a-half years, but Coutu never played in the NHL again.)
Dan Maloney	Detroit Red Wings	2 years	November 1975	mentioned above (Banned from playing in Toronto only)
Alexander Perezhogin	Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)	89 games	April 2004	slashed Garrett Stafford in the head (Perezhogin was suspended for five 2004 playoff games plus all 80 regular season games and four playoff games of the 2004–05 season, but the Russian Superleague did not honor his suspension, so he was able to play in that league's 2004-05 season.)
André Deveaux	Rögle BK (SHL Qualifier)	10 1/2 months	March 2015	Assaulted unsuspecting Per Helmersson during a warmup (Deveaux subsequently agreed to terminate his contract.)
Raffi Torres	San Jose Sharks	41 games	October 2015	illegal check to the head on Jakob Silfverberg and interference
Chris Simon	New York Islanders	30 games	December 2007	stomped on Jarkko Ruutu's ankle during a timeout
Chris Simon	New York Islanders	25 games	March 2007	slashed Ryan Hollweg in the head
Jesse Boulerice	Philadelphia Flyers	25 games	October 2007	cross-checked Ryan Kesler in the face
Marty McSorley	Boston Bruins	23 games	February 2000	mentioned above (After his assault conviction, his NHL suspension was extended to one full year from the time of the incident, through February 21, 2001, however McSorley did not sign a new contract at before the next season, and never played in the NHL again.)
Gordie Dwyer	Tampa Bay Lightning	23 games (two pre-season games plus 21 regular season games)	September 2000	left the penalty box to try and engage in a fight and verbally and physically abused officials (Dwyer was also fined $10,000.)
Jan-Axel Alavaara	MoDo Hockey (SHL)	22 games	1998	Intentionally skated into an official
Dale Hunter	Washington Capitals	21 games	April 1993	deliberately hit and injured Pierre Turgeon after Turgeon had scored (incident occurred in Capitals' final playoff game; suspension carried over to first 21 games of next regular season)
Raffi Torres	Phoenix Coyotes	21 games	April 2012	illegal check of Marián Hossa in the head (originally 25 games, reduced to 21 games on appeal)
Tom Lysiak	Chicago Black Hawks	20 games	October 1983	intentionally tripped linesman Ron Foyt with his stick
Brad May	Phoenix Coyotes	20 games	November 2000	slashed Steve Heinze in the nose
Todd Bertuzzi	Vancouver Canucks	20 games (13 regular season games plus seven playoff games)	March 2004	mentioned above (Since there was a labour dispute in the NHL the ensuing year, and the NHL is an IIHF member, the suspension was good for all IIHF member leagues in the ensuing season. Reinstated by the NHL Commissioner on August 8, 2005.)
Steve Downie	Philadelphia Flyers	20 games	September 2007	threw himself at Dean McAmmond behind the net
Dennis Wideman	Calgary Flames	20 games	January 2016	cross-checked linesman Don Henderson from behind (reduced to 10 games on appeal in March 2016)
Josh Gratton	Vityaz Chekhov (KHL)	20 games	December 2010	deliberately hit and injured Roman Červenka and Martin Škoula
Tom Kühnhackl	Niagara IceDogs (OHL)	20 games	November 2011	Charging and elbowing Ryan Murphy
Patrice Cormier	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)	20 games	January 2010	Elbowing Mikael Tam
Sergei Belokon	Vityaz Chekhov (KHL)	18 games	December 2010	deliberately hit and injured Roman Červenka and Martin Škoula
Tomas Javeblad	Luleå HK (SHL)	17 games	1990	Attacked a referee over a goal that Javeblad disagreed with
Eddie Shore	Boston Bruins	16 games	December 1933	sucker punched Ace Bailey from behind
Matt Cooke	Pittsburgh Penguins	16 games (ten regular season games plus six playoff games)	March 2011	elbowed Ryan McDonagh in the head
Maurice Richard	Montreal Canadiens	15 games (three regular season games plus 12 playoff games)	March 1955	knocked out linesman Cliff Thompson during a fight with Hal Laycoe; this incident led to the Richard Riot
Wilf Paiement	Colorado Rockies	15 games	October 1978	caused deliberate facial injuries to Dennis Polonich
Dave Brown	Philadelphia Flyers	15 games	November 1987	cross-checked and injured Tomas Sandström
Tony Granato	Los Angeles Kings	15 games	February 1994	slashed Neil Wilkinson in the head
Shawn Thornton	Boston Bruins	15 games	December 2013	Punched Brooks Orpik in the head while he was on his back on the ice
Darcy Verot	Vityaz Chekhov (KHL)	14 games	December 2010	deliberately hit and injured Roman Červenka and Martin Škoula
Ivan Larin	Vityaz Chekhov (KHL)	14 games	December 2010	deliberately hit and injured Roman Červenka and Martin Škoula
Sebastian Karlsson	Linköpings HC (SHL)	14 games (11 SHL games plus 3 national team games)	November 2011	Illegal check to the head on Magnus Kahnberg that caused a concussion requiring hospitalization
Wayne Maki	St. Louis Blues	30 days	September 1969	mentioned above
Ted Green	Boston Bruins	13 games	September 1969	mentioned above
André Roy	Tampa Bay Lightning	13 games	April 2002	left the penalty box and physically abused a linesman while trying to start a fight with players in the New York Rangers penalty box
David Shaw	New York Rangers	12 games	October 1988	slashed Mario Lemieux in the throat
Ron Hextall	Philadelphia Flyers	12 games	May 1989	attacked Chris Chelios
Matt Johnson	Los Angeles Kings	12 games	November 1998	sucker punched Jeff Beukeboom in the back of the head
Brantt Myhres	San Jose Sharks	12 games	February 1999	left the bench to attack Mattias Norström
Owen Nolan	San Jose Sharks	11 games	February 2001	hit Grant Marshall in the face with his stick
Tie Domi	Toronto Maple Leafs	11 games (three playoff games plus eight regular season games)	May 2001	elbowed Scott Niedermayer in the face
Jimmy Mann	Winnipeg Jets	10 games	January 1982	mentioned above
Peter Lindmark	Malmö IF (SHL)	10 games	1996	Swung his stick at the referee's head
Ruslan Salei	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	10 games	October 1999	checked Mike Modano face first into the boards from behind
Scott Niedermayer	New Jersey Devils	10 games	March 2000	slashed Peter Worrell in the head
Kip Brennan	Los Angeles Kings	10 games	December 2003	returned to the ice to engage in a brawl after being ejected for roughing an opponent
Eric Godard	Pittsburgh Penguins	10 games	February 2011	left the bench to fight Micheal Haley after Haley had challenged Pittsburgh goalie, Brent Johnson during the Penguins-Islanders brawl
Trevor Gillies	New York Islanders	10 games	March 2011	dangerous hit on Cal Clutterbuck in first game back from a nine-game suspension as a result of the Penguins-Islanders brawl
David Clarkson	Toronto Maple Leafs	10 games	September 2013	left the bench to engage in a fight
Paul Bissonnette	Phoenix Coyotes	10 games	September 2013	left the bench to fight a Los Angeles Kings player on an illegal ice change
Patrick Kaleta	Buffalo Sabres	10 games	October 2013	delivered illegal check to the head of Jack Johnson

See also

• Battle of the Hockey Enforcers
• Fighting in ice hockey

External links

• 10 Hockey Violence Lowlights, CBC Sports Online, 9 March 2004. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/columns/top10/hockey_lowlights.html
• NHL Suspension List. Canadian Press. http://www.slam.canoe.ca/Slam040311/nhl_susp-cp.html
• History of criminal charges on ice. Canadian Press. 24 June 2004. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=88823