Did you read the report about what happened at the time? I thought the same thing but then I read the part that went back the an article at the time. It was during a scrimmage and basically Downie hit him and Landy go pissed and went after him on the bench and Downie didnt go back at him. Later in the scrimmage, Landy went into a corner and took out Downie's legs from behind and it was bad enough that Downie sat out some of the scrimmage in some pain. Later Downie came back on the ice later and got into it more with him.
To me, it's a scrimmage, you're allowed to hit. The article made it seem like it wasnt that much of a hit because the guy barely even noticed it. I would say its a dick move if Downie leveled him in open ice or went after his head but if you cant take a hit without going after someone and then taking out their legs, youre kind of a punk.