Trevor Gillies Back In the NHL’s Penalty Box

        Trevor Gillies of the New York Islanders did not waste any time in making his presence felt.  In his first game back from his nine game suspension for his altercation with Eric Tangradi of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the forward continued his brash style of play.  After Cal Clutterbuck from the Minnesota Wild checked his teammate into the boards, Gillies retaliated by coming up high and hitting Clutterbuck’s head into the glass.  Gillies received a five minute major and a game misconduct for his actions.  While it is a forgone conclusion that the NHL will suspend Gillies, the pressing issue is determining the duration of his sentence.  The league has an important decision on its hands, but must act quickly to assume control of the situation.  Gillies is now a repeat offender and the proximity of incidents must be taken into account by the NHL.  While everyone deserves a second chance, Gillies threw that in the trash in a matter of a few shifts during his return.  Playing physical, yet disciplined hockey is what drives patrons into arenas, but this type of barbaric lunacy would get those same fans arrested if they mimicked those actions in a public forum.  

The Islanders organization must be embarrassed by this latest tirade, for this is exactly what the NHL discourages in today’s game.  Management must also stress that this type of play will not be tolerated and release this man immediately.  By doing so, it will serve as a public apology to its fan base as well as a declaration that players’ safety, a main concern of the NHL, is supported at the team level.  With the rising amount of players who have sustained serious injuries through clean play, the league cannot allow more to be targets of unruly behavior.  Hopefully upon his perceived release from the Islanders, other teams will turn their backs and let Gillies walk off into oblivion.  Incidents like this give the league a black eye and bring the evolution of the sport down several pegs on the totem pole.  With critics analyzing the reaction of the league closely, it is time for the NHL to step up to the plate and send a loud and clear message to not only its brethren, but to the sports world.  This is the exact time and place for disciplinary action to equal the on-ice crime, but the clock is ticking.