Cam Janssen Suspended 5 Games for 2-13-10 Hit on Matt Bradley

You won't see this guy suited up until mid-March at the earliest. Image via blues.nhl.com

St. Louis Blues forward Cam Janssen has received a five-game suspension as a result of his late hit on Washington Capitals forward Matt Bradley in each team’s final game before the Olympic break on February 13th.

At first, I thought the hit was suspicious but not enough to draw a sizable suspension.  I still believe the punishment is excessive, but there was no doubt it would draw the ire of the NHL’s front office.

I’ll take you back to last season – Ryan Hollweg (then of the Toronto Maple  Leafs), who had already been suspended multiple times for dirty plays such as the one Janssen committed a couple weeks ago, was given an automatic two-game ban by the League for a late hit on Alex Pietrangelo (video here) because of a prior history.  Hollweg, who now is toiling with the Phoenix Coyotes’ AHL affiliate (the San Antonio Rampage), had committed a similar act against the Blues in a preseason game and was a multiple repeat offender.  Now, here’s the video of Janssen’s hit on Bradley.

You be the judge . . . should Janssen have been given five games for his hit on Bradley, or would a suspension of maybe two games be more appropriate?  Considering Janssen had no prior history of dirty play, a suspension of two games probably would have been plenty.  Maybe I’m being a homer here, but obviously Colin Campbell and I have a difference in opinion.

With the Blues on a push for the playoffs after the Olympic break ends, Janssen’s energy and intensity will be missed for the five games he is banned, but there’s a chance he would have been in the press box for at least two of those games anyway, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find energy from the pool of 3rd- and 4th-liners already employed by The Note.