Fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice, shame on us, fool us three times, shame on the league for not coming down hard enough to prevent it from happening a third time.
After last night’s highly questionable lick from Brad Marchand on Lightning forward Ryan Callahan, the NHL has broken the silence and released a statement regarding how they’ll be handling Brad Marchand’s latest tongue lashing.
“Similar behavior in the future will be dealt with by way of supplemental discipline.” That means Marchand won't be suspended or fined...for now.
This type of behavior is the second time we’ve seen this from Marchand so far in these playoffs. Back in Round 1, Marchand got up close and personal when licked the face of Leo Komarov. It was actually the second time Marchand had done this to the Leafs agitator. So, if you’re counting at home, that’s three incidents now that Marchand has used his tongue or lips to make an opposing player feel uncomfortable and leave the hockey world scratching their heads.
So why did Marchand pull this stunt once again?
“He punched me four times in the face, so he just kept on getting close. It was nothing big.”
A reporter mentioned Callahan’s comments about not knowing if there’s much of a difference at all between spitting on someone and licking them. Marchand’s response? Well, it was a classic one which you would’ve heard before.
“That’s cute. Good for him.” That was the same answer he gave when he was told about Komarov's thoughts on being licked.
Here's what Ryan Callahan and Bolts bench boss Jon Cooper had to say about it.
“I don’t know what the difference between that is and spitting in somebody’s face,” Callahan told reporters after the Game 4. “If I’m not mistaken, spitting is a game misconduct, if not a gross.”
“I don’t know what the difference is there, if it’s not worse. “I’m just surprised that something isn’t done. I don’t know what the difference is between spitting in someone’s face and licking it.”
Well, Callahan somewhat got his wish.
According to TSN Senior Reporter Frank Seravalli, the NHL will be enforcing a rule in which Marchand’s licks could be filed under.
Is the NHL being too lenient on Marchand? Should they have handed him some sort of misconduct, or at the very minimum, an unsportsmanlike penalty?
Or do you somewhat side with the NHL that the proper discipline will handed out if anything of similar nature will be handled with supplemental discipline, which could lead to a suspension or fine for the 29-year-old?
Let us know what you think in our Facebook comments.
