It's a Canadian Game

Is saying that one team is dirty really a valid reason to also be dirty?

It was another familiar and unfortunate site for Buffalo last Wednesday night, not just because the Sabres lost again for the 9th time this season (now at 10), but because another dirty hit was committed. In their 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins Sabres goon (to put it nicely) John Scott delivered a vicious elbow to the head of Bruins star Loui Eriksson on a delayed hit. So once again Scott has the hockey world up in arms after another dirty play. John Scott's hit on Loui Eriksson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojoCAhhOxGs However, it seems that now the talk of the incident is less about vicious hits in the game, but more about having vicious players such as Scott in the game at all. Scott has been coined the term “goon” and rightfully so. Many believe that hockey has no place for people whose sole purpose to take the ice every night is to hurt and attempt to injure other player, while contributing very little to their team in terms of offense. Throughout Scott’s career he has played in 187 games and recorded just one goal and 4 assists. This year in 7 games Scott has no points, has averaged just 4.57 minutes of ice time while averaging just under 3 minutes per game in the penalty box. That means Scott only tends to play about 2 more minutes on the ice then he does in the penalty box. Besides his lack of contribution at the NHL level, Scott’s stats have been similar everywhere he has played. In the AHL he has played 173 games putting up just six goals and 13 points and in the WCHA he played 126 games recording 7 goals and 18 points. It is obvious to see that Scott did not make it to the NHL because of his numbers. Now many might claim that he is just doing what fourth line players are paid to do, be physical, stick up for their stars, and get their team energized with a good fight. This is all true, but Scott tends to do this in a very dirty fashion. Many fourth line players will fight other fourth line players and stick up for their stars when they are in trouble. This is not what Scott has done. In a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the pre-season (likely one of the more famous pre-season games of all-time) Scott jumped superstar Phil Kessel which then resulted in a line brawl that even saw goaltenders Jonathan Bernier and Ryan Miller square off. Scott jumped Kessel, in what seemed to be a retaliatory offense, after Maple Leafs tough guy Jamie Devane fought with Sabres Corey Tropp. However, in the case of Tropp, he bit off a little more than he could chew. Tropp being 6’0 decided to take on Devane who towers at 6’5. To make matters worse Devane is a player who has been known to be a good fighter. So, when Tropp was knocked out by a punch by Devane, as tragic and dangerous as it was, it wasn’t Devane’s fault so looking for retaliation should not have been his first thought. Scott though was not pleased with this and to settle the score he decided to take vengeance on the Leafs star, instead of the person who actually had knocked out Tropp. In fact just before Scott jumped Kessel as they lined up to one another on the faceoff circle, Scott told Kessel he was going to jump him. Unfortunately, this has been a pattern with Scott. In both his most recent altercations he has targeted star players, not other fourth line players like himself. This goes to show that he trying to injure stars to give his team an edge the best way he can, since goal scoring for him is out of the question. Many may argue Scott is no different than other fourth line players and goons such as Colton Orr, George Parros, Chris Neil, Matt Cooke, etc. but the fact is that these players do either one or two things that Scott does not. First off most of them can provide a few more points for their team, Chris Neil has averaged about 25 points a season and even put up 16 goals in 2005-06 while Matt Cooke when healthy and in the lineup has been able to put up a solid 40 points and is currently second in scoring on Minnesota with 8 points in 12 games. The other thing many of these other fourth line players tend to do is fight and play physical while also being clean. To be an enforcer does not mean one has to play dirty. Guys such as Colton Orr and George Parros fight a lot and are looked upon to be physical but these players tend to fight the enforcers of other teams. They refrain from going after big stars and when they fight or play physical they do it cleanly. These players don’t look to hit for the head or throw vicious elbows to injure others, they simply do what they can to stand up for their teammates and provide energy and a boost to their team. As the NHL still works to come up with an appropriate suspension for Scott following the Eriksson hit the one thing that Scott might have going for him is the fact that he doesn’t have any prior suspensions and this will be his first offense. Though, if Scott’s style of play and his past show anything it might be that this won’t be the last time he faces discipline. Maybe the league should stop Scott once and for all. Follow me on Twitter: @Craig_Hagerman