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Report: League unhappy with Nick Boynton’s “throat slash” gesture

Nick Boynton, Chris Durno

Chicago Blackhawks’ Nick Boynton (24) checks Tampa Bay Lightning’s Chris Durno (37) during the second period of their preseason NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Woods)

AP

In case you missed it in our recap of last night’s pre-season action, Blackhawks defenseman Nick Boynton got himself in a little bit of trouble. After delivering a highly-questionable knee-on-knee hit to Lightning forward Chris Durno, Lightning teammate Blair Jones grabbed Boynton to settle things via fisticuffs. After the fight concluded, Boynton, while being hauled to the penalty box, said some colorful things to Jones and then made an apparent throat-slashing gesture. Click here to check out the video and judge for yourself.

Doing such things is pretty much verboten in any league these days, and the NHL is apparently taking an interest in just about everything wrong that Boynton did in this situation. Sportsnet has the details.

An NHL source told sportsnet.ca that the league is not happy with Boynton’s gesture, but it is unlikely to announce supplementary discipline on Thursday.

All right so if they’re not happy with it but they’re not going to do anything about it, does that mean then that Boynton doesn’t get a snack pack with his lunch today? Perhaps that just means Colin Campbell grumbles quietly to himself, shaking his fist at the sky hoping to do more.

While the throat-slash is bad for PR, what’s bad for players is getting hit knee-on-knee the way Durno was. Perhaps punishing that action would benefit the league a bit more than getting on the case of a player shouting four-letter words and blowing his top. Well now that I put it that way... Never mind.