Zack Kassian kicks Erik Cernak with his skate blade (Mod warning in OP)

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bucks_oil

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Aug 25, 2005
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There is no context needed, all you need to watch is the 2-5 second portion in which Kassian looks at the player and then kicks him in the chest with a skate. Nothing that could be shown in any other portion of the clip would condone using ones skate to kick another player.

Edit: And i have watched the whole clip...3 players get tangled up and fall, the Tampa player lands on top...after scrumming for a few seconds, Kassian kicks the player in the chest to remove him from atop of the pile. There is NOTHING the Tampa player did in that whole sequence that warranted Kassian kicking him with a skate.

You can certainly get to "guilty" from the short clip. I personally agree.

My point was that the longer clip would help people assess severity and thus punishment.

Fictional example: if the two had been slashing each other, fell down on top of each other and then a kick... one would impute a more violent intent and would likely want a longer suspension.
 

bucks_oil

Registered User
Aug 25, 2005
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Your comments read like that when you are so fixated on everyone taking "the whole play" into consideration.
And I read all your comments, I read the whole thread.

you are welcome to quote them... otherwise you are just applying your own bias or subjectivity, likely (I'm making my own subjective comment here) based on username.
 

Missing smitty

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Oct 1, 2018
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You ever worn equipment?

cut.jpg


Cernak wears a Bauer Vapor APX2

Weight:835 GramsWeight of the product measured in grams (Sr Med, Jr Med, Yth Med).
Removable Stomach Pad:YesDoes it have a removable stomach pad?
Sternum Plate:Aerolite TechnologyProtective material covering the sternum.
Spine Protection:Aerolite TechnologyProtective material covering the spine.
Biceps:Aerolite TechnologyType of design and/or protective padding of the bicep.
Shoulder Cap:Aerolite TechnologyType of design and/or protective padding of the shoulder cap.
Liner:37.5 TchnologyMaterial that lines the interior of the product.
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
Foam no kevlar, professional hockey players aren't out there wearing melted down tanks as shoulder pads. High density foams protect from blunt impact trauma, not skate blades.
Shin Gaurds and Skate boots are far more protective, as they are designed to be hit with sticks and skates in a way most guys don't expect their chest to be hit.

Are skates made of swords now? Do you think the skate "blade" would slice through those pads?

I get it, it's stupid, it's one of the stupidest things a player can do. But pretending like he tried to bloody kill the guy is an absolute joke. Grow the hell up.

If I went into my garage and grabbed my hockey stick and beat someone, it's assault with a weapon. So Chara should be charged too right? He smoked a dude in the throat, could have crushed his larynx.

Point is, stop pretending that it was more than it was. It was beyond idiotic and hopefully he gets the book thrown at him. But that's where it ends.
 

HugginThePost

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The fact that Cernak didn't feel it or react takes absolutely nothing away from how stupid and reckless it was. Kicking at someone while you're wearing a skate is a really dangerous thing to do and no one needs any further context to have that opinion.

He reacted, just not like Kassian would have, you know with words, not by grabbing someone from behind and throwing punches to the back of the head.

Cernak asked him what the hell he was thinking. He was probably too shocked to do anything other than "What the f***, buddy?".

Of course, the meathead Kassian didn't even bother answering or saying he was sorry. Just skated away.

But the best part was him actually admitting to kicking him and trying to get him off!!

You just can't make this shit up!!!
 

ElysiumAB

Registered User
Sep 12, 2013
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I forgot that part of your post already. But, you don't, I guess, get what's going on here. It has nothing to do with Tkachuk. Nobody is making that comparison.
We're just laughing at Kassian and the code club. Because he kicked a guy with a skate not long after going gorilla-ape-**** and ranting about the code.

And that "code" had to do with the actions of which player?...........

In the same breath as you say you're not making a comparison, you make a comparison.

I'm saying, regardless of what you think about the play, or players.... the comparison isn't applicable.
 

TooManyHumans

Registered User
May 4, 2018
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He kicked a guy in the chest with a blade on his foot. If he hits and his foot slips up then he's in extremely dangerous territory. It's dangerous no matter the outcome.
I called it dangerous (and reckless) in the post you quoted. I also said it deserves supplemental discipline. It just isn't as bad as the stomp was.
 

Jedub

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Nov 21, 2013
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you are welcome to quote them... otherwise you are just applying your own bias or subjectivity, likely (I'm making my own subjective comment here) based on username.
I already quoted what was necessary. Your point that context is needed to correctly judge the play is pedantic in this case. Kassian being knocked over is immaterial to the fact that Kassian kicked Cernak.
 

Confused Turnip

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Nov 29, 2019
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Great job on editing the quote, which is actually (from the link you provided):
“It felt like we were there a lifetime. We were down there for a while,” Kassian said. “He was holding my leg, it was reactionary. I was just trying to get him off me, kick him off me. I was just trying to get my foot loose.
“If I kicked him hard, I think he would have flew back or the ref would have called a penalty.”

My opinion... Kassian wasn't actually trying to injure the Cernak; if he was trying to do that he could have kicked harder and even picked a different spot (like Cernak's face). But it was incredibly stupid. You don't "push" someone with a knife blade cause that's just stupid. Given his recent suspension and discussion with DoPS just a month ago, his suspension will be meaningful.

As far as "the code" goes, AFAIK it encompasses more than just being willing to drop the gloves when you throw a questionable hit. It also encompasses things like not kicking, two-handing someone in the head with a stick, fish-hooking, eye-gouging, blind punches, etc. Being willing to drop your gloves when you "break the code" is PART of the code, but not the entire thing.

As far as Cernak not reacting, maybe it's because, unlike Kassian, he realized there was a hockey game going on, and since he wasn't hurt, the smarter move was to not get into a fight.

And finally, Kassian started this whole thing by wrapping his arm around Cernak and pulling him down on top of himself and Archibald. And at the time of the kick, both his legs were free.

C
Not just that but he was actually holding Cernak by the stick. Looks an awful lot like he wanted to manufacture an excuse.
 

Kranix

Deranged Homer
Jun 27, 2012
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And that "code" had to do with the actions of which player?...........

In the same breath as you say you're not making a comparison, you make a comparison.

I'm saying, regardless of what you think about the play, or players.... the comparison isn't applicable.
Take a step back and re-evaluate what you're typing. Is this some kind of Flames Oilers thing with you?I'm not comparing what happened here with Tkachuk. I'm saying a guy who preached about the code kicked a guy in the chest with his skate.
 

TooManyHumans

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May 4, 2018
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So, if you were given the choice:

A) put on a boot, made of hard plastic, and a shin pad, made of a hard plastic outer shell and dense foam inner, and let someone stomp on that area 1 time with a skate on
Or
B) put on a light foam chest protector, and have someone kick up at your chest and throat area with a skate on,

You'd choose B because it didn't look as "vicious"?
I'd choose B because there was little force to it. I'm not even really defending the act as I called it reckless and dangerous and said it deserves supplemental discipline. It just wasn't on the level of the stomp, IMO, because it was done with very little force. But it could have gone very badly and so he deserves a suspension. I don't see what is controversial about any of that.
 
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Liferleafer

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Feb 9, 2011
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You can certainly get to "guilty" from the short clip. I personally agree.

My point was that the longer clip would help people assess severity and thus punishment.

Fictional example: if the two had been slashing each other, fell down on top of each other and then a kick... one would impute a more violent intent and would likely want a longer suspension.
In many cases (slashing/crosschecking etc) i would agree, but kicking with a skate is on another level...even if there was slashing prior...which in this case there wasn't, in no way do you kick a player with a skate.

This is one of those times in which mitigating circumstances won't apply. The sentence will be based solely on the act. He kicked a player with his skate, he will be punished harshly. The one thing that will play here is his record, and the fact he just came back from suspension won't help/
 

HugginThePost

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What context, dude?
Kassian pretty much went into a gun shop, loaded a gun and accidentally pointed it at someone.
VERY BAD ETIQUETTE.

I'll be honest. I haven't spent much time in gun shops. I'm pretty sure that's a huge no-no and not only would the shopkeeper assume I'm either a psycho or a ******, but he wouldn't want me back in his shop, either

The NHL and most of its fans don't want to see anything even slightly resembling the behavior of former goon Chris Simon.

I don't mean so sound like a patronizing dick, but being Oil fans, we're just saying that we think it's OK to enforce a double standard if we defend our player in this situation. If you want to stick up for a player that isn't playing for your team people will take your argument a lot more seriously.

If Kassian played for the Flames and that exact same thing happened, except his skate was touching McDavid, we'd literally have lost our voices from losing our **** screaming at the TV before even finding our way to HFboards.

If you're an 18 year old that's been drafted by an NHL team chances are you've already spent the last 12 years of your life listening to coaches telling you how you don't kick or move your skate in the direction of other people's body parts, hit people from behind, target the head when you check, fly into the air Raffi Torres style before you initiate contact, you don't dive and you don't spear people in the balls.

By the time you're drafted it should just be second nature and you get suspended for these things not only to punish you for doing something wrong but also to give you a wake up call so that you can have more of a reason to take a step back and really analyze your own train of thought when in a game so that you don't need to screw up even worse and get an even heavier suspension when you come back.

I love Zack Kassian, but he's crazy.
Remember when he broke Gagner's face with his stick?
I was so pissed off over that. Gagner had a good year the season before and we were only in exhibition games.
I was pretty sure he didn't do it on purpose and I'm not 100% if he intended on actually kicking a player last night, but that's besides the point. HE DID IT.

5 games would be a slap on the wrist.

But let's be honest here......the best part was that when they faced off on the ice the next time, instead of apologizing and showing some sort of compassion for destroying a mans face, he openly mocked him.

Kassian is a douche bag......good for him for beating his demons with addiction......doesn't change the fact that he's an asshole of the highest order.
 

BHD

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This is one of those times in which mitigating circumstances won't apply. The sentence will be based solely on the act. He kicked a player with his skate, he will be punished harshly. The one thing that will play here is his record, and the fact he just came back from suspension won't help/

Exactly.
 
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BHD

Vejmelka for Vezina
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Okay. Let's stick to what people are saying about the incident. Further baiting will get you removed from the thread.
 

kingsholygrail

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I hadn't seen the clip and read his reasoning and after seeing the clip, I don't get it. It's not like the guy was laying on top of him and he was trying to push him off. If anything Kassian was tangled up with his own teammate. It's just a stupid move and he's gonna be on vacation for a while for it.
 

zizbuka

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Apr 4, 2017
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And that "code" had to do with the actions of which player?...........

In the same breath as you say you're not making a comparison, you make a comparison.

I'm saying, regardless of what you think about the play, or players.... the comparison isn't applicable.

He's not making a comparison, he's pointing out the irony. Now move on already
 

Rangediddy

The puck was in
Oct 28, 2011
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"Need to consider it in the context of the situation"... what crap.

Here's the context: He kicked someone in the chest with his skate blade.

Just like it doesn't matter the context of why a player abuses an official, you don't kick someone with your skate. Period. No defending that.
 

thaman8765678

Registered User
Jun 11, 2011
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I don't get it. It seemed like he had turned a corner. Sure, he was still an agitator that would walk the line between clean and dirty, but I thought this type of stuff was behind him.
He turned a corner? Just a month ago he Bertuzzied a player and said he had no regrets... in what world would anyone think he has changed.
 

Patmac40

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Jun 7, 2012
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Guys. I went back and watched every Tampa game starting with the 04 Cup run and ending with last night's tilt against the Oilers.

With the full context of what happened (and I'll be fair, I did need to see game #28 of the 2010 season to really get it), Kassian still kicked a player with his skate.

Thanks for checking out my reasonable take with context.

And you completely ignore all of Tampa's games from 1992-2004, smh so short-sighted
 

Rubi

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A lot of people here calling Kassian a moron but if you think about it.. its a pretty smart play on his part.

Ever since he's gotten the opportunity to play with McJesus he's become a star in his own mind and the minds of his adoring public. However... McJesus is injured and will miss a number of games and this, of course, is bad for Kassian. His points production is drying up already and the more he plays without McJesus the more apparent it becomes that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes.

Solution??? Get yourself suspended for at least as many games that McJesus will miss. If you're not playing fans can't complain about what a shitty job you're doing.

It's brilliant I tell you. Brilliant. He helps both himself and the team in one fell swoop.
 

Eye Test

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Since you are busy making stupid analogies... you of course realize that involuntary manslaughter < voluntary manslaughter < 2nd degree murder < 1st degree murder. So yeah... the entire murder clip (as well as the events leading up to it) would certainly factor into that determination.

We’re talking about in the moment. The charges would stay the same. With a history of violence would only influence it negatively.

Keep on digging
 
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