Keith Suspended 5 Games

Here’s the hit.

What can be said, that hasn’t already been said? It was a hit of the dirtiest kind, and,it was predatory. The NHL and disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan can’t call it predatory because it’s tough to string a hit from Daniel Sedin on Keith to this hit in particular. To add to that, Keith acted as if he didn’t notice the hit he received from Daniel Sedin, which is obviously not true – the guy is known for being slippery than a bar of jail house soap. You’d think the fact of the puck being nowhere close, and Keith going directly for Sedin’s head would be predatory enough. But, like an old Canuck once said, ‘It is what it is’.

Shanahan has handed down a five game ban to Duncan Keith, a suspension that will cost Keith $149,688. The suspension is immediately being compared to the Shane Doan hit, and the Aaron Rome hit from last years playoffs.

Check those out here.

Rome was suspended for 4 games. In the Stanley Cup Finals.

Of course, optics play a huge role here, and it’s tough to compare one hit to another, because we’re not actually receiving or throwing them. The look or ‘non look’ on Horton’s face was likely a huge factor, because, you haven’t seen dead eyes like that since Paul Kariya took a hit from Scott Stevens.

How do the two cities feel about the suspension?

Well, Chicago will say that Keith is missing critical games for playoff positioning, while Canuck fans will say that he’s getting rested for the playoffs. Sean O’Donnell is slate to take his place starting against the Nashville Predators.

Check out these two pieces from the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Vancouver Province.