Kostopoulos Suspended Three Games for Hit on Van Ryn

[VodkaFish]

TORONTO - Montreal Canadiens forward Tom Kostopoulos has been suspended for three games, without pay, as a result of being assessed a game misconduct during NHL game #197 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 8, the National Hockey League announced today.

"While it is my determination that Kostopoulos did not deliver a check to an unsuspecting opponent, his actions caused injuries," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Kostopoulos is considered a repeat offender. Accordingly, he forfeits $32,926.83 based on the number of games in the season (82), rather than the number of days (186). The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Kostopoulos was assessed a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for a hit on Toronto defenseman Mike Van Ryn at 7:03 of the first period.

Kostopoulos will miss Tuesday's game vs. Ottawa, the Nov. 13 game at Boston and Nov. 15 vs. Philadelphia. He will be eligible to return Nov. 16 at St. Louis.

Through the Canadiens, Kostopoulos released this statement: "First and foremost, I sincerely regret the injuries suffered by Mike Van Ryn. This is an unfortunate turn of events. I was just trying to get in on the forecheck and get the puck. I didn’t anticipate him turning and couldn’t stop. I was trying to finish my check and obviously it did not end up well. I never intend on injuring another player. I feel bad. I hope he is going to be all right and resume playing as quickly as possible."

[cowboy]

appropriate action

[shaud19]

yea, very cheap hit

[Cat Smasher]

It's time to man up, Kosto

Players like Hollweg, Downie, and I guess now you Tom, are often apologized for in that they are already "borderline NHLers" who have to play as hard as they can just to stay up in the game. That kind of thinking is ridiculous, if either Hollweg or Downie had the restraint and control to make the smart play instead of running a man they might never need fear losing their jobs. Reckless players are simply that, reckless, and that kind of contact in a professional game is pointless........continued.

“I don’t understand those kinds of hits,” Wilson said. “I’ve seen our Ryan Hollweg do it.

"We have to find a way to get these hits from behind and head shots out of the game. You can’t say a player can’t turn. It’s his responsibility to go back and get the puck and it’s the guy who makes the hit to have the responsibility to make sure the [opponent] isn’t vulnerable."

[Thrillhouse]

Yeah I'd say that's about right.

[stevecanuck16]

Nice to see the NHL brass not overreacting to an injury (or in this case multiple injuries.) I think everyone can be happy with this.

[FreakNasty]

Pretty hard to argue with this one. One of the few times I think the NHL got it right with a suspension.

[glaxko]

it was a pretty bad hit, and i personally think it was intentional. Kostopoulos doesn't do hits like that often, but it is still unfortunate. The only possibly good thing (yes i know its not good at all) that came out of it was that A solid D-man from the other team got hurt bad, and that is an absolutely horrible 'good thing'. Kostopoulos did a bad thing...

[glaxko]

Originally Posted by Cat Smasher

It's time to man up, Kosto



“I don’t understand those kinds of hits,” Wilson said. “I’ve seen our Ryan Hollweg do it.

"We have to find a way to get these hits from behind and head shots out of the game. You can’t say a player can’t turn. It’s his responsibility to go back and get the puck and it’s the guy who makes the hit to have the responsibility to make sure the [opponent] isn’t vulnerable."

come the hell down. It was a bad hit, i admit that, but to compare him to Hollweg and Downie??? Kostopoulos only got suspended once both this season and last season combined. Hollweg, however, has gotten suspended several times.

[Habs # 1]

I thought this was Kostopoulos first time getting suspended... guess not. I thought he was going to get 5 or 6 games he is lucky he only got 3.

[Cat Smasher]

Originally Posted by glaxko

come the hell down. It was a bad hit, i admit that, but to compare him to Hollweg and Downie??? Kostopoulos only got suspended once both this season and last season combined. Hollweg, however, has gotten suspended several times.

Did you read the whole article? In which I did not write. Hollweg is on our team, so I can't really say ****, so you simma.

Now Tom, you have a reputation for being a pretty clean guy, so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt on this one. There's a lot of stuff happening very fast, mistakes happen, and this is a contact sport, no way around it. I don't believe you ever actually intended to hurt Mike.

[Isles4life]

The league got this one right. Kosto's hit definitely warranted a suspension, but he doesn't have a track record of this kind of thing, so 3 games seems fair. Everyone screws up once in a while. They really need to crack down on these kinds of hits coming from repeat offenders.

[Jensen]

Kostopoulos' hit didn't really seem intentional to me, but it warranted a suspension with how the NHL is handing them out now. 3 games seems about right.

[PastorJ]

Right on the money. I don't think it was intentional, but it still caused injury. Very appropriate. Nice to see Kostopoulos acutally apologize and show some concern as well.

[canuckfan]

I'm surprised he actually didn't get more considering all the injuries the hit caused, but 3 games fits the bill.