Hockey is not a calm game, and fights are pretty much the norm each time they puck hits the ice. The coaches, however, are not the usual suspects in initiating the fights. John Tortorella is apparently looking to change that fact with his infamous outbursts, and Yahoo Sports tells us that this time the NHL is giving him major heat.
The typical hockey brawl erupted during the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks game Saturday, likely due to the Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley starting with a tough guy lineup. This is looked down upon in the sport, and Calgary Coach Bob Hartley is reported to having to pay a fine for that.
Tortorella did more than look down on the selection however– experts commented that he could have diffused the situation with a better selection on his part to answer the Flames’ lineup. A massive brawl soon erupted, eight players were ejected, and Tortorella decided to take matters into his own ungloved hands and tried his best to break through into the Flames’ locker room– earning himself a hearing with the National Hockey League.
To make this even more interesting, this happened minutes after the puck was dropped.
Pretty gutsy stuff, but this is not the way of North American professional sports. The League says there is no other answer but to suspend Tortorella in accordance with Rule 46.8 of the NHL rulebook that states:
“Whenever a Coach or other non-playing Club personnel becomes involved in an altercation with an opposing player, Coach or other non-playing Club personnel on or off the ice, shall be automatically suspended from the game, ordered to the dressing room and the matter will be reported to the Commissioner for further disciplinary action.”
Time will tell what the outcome of this recent loss of temper will mean for Tortorella. Tortorella has seen his share of fines and reprimands, but Saturday’s actions might have taken it a little too far, even for this sport.
Image via Youtube