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Aaron Rome suspended four games for his hit on Nathan Horton

Vancouver Canucks v Boston Bruins - Game Three

BOSTON, MA - JUNE 06: Aaron Rome #29 of the Vancouver Canucks gets ejected due to misconduct in the first period to Nathan Horton #18 of the Boston Bruins during Game Three of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 6, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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While some debated whether or not Aaron Rome would be suspended for his wicked hit on Nathan Horton in the first period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals, there was no debate amongst the NHL officials. Rome was suspended for four games for his hit meaning he’ll sit out the rest of the finals. With the Bruins ruling Nathan Horton out of the playoffs with a severe concussion, in this case, the punishment fits the crime.

Rome’s suspension is the harshest one delivered in the history of the Stanley Cup finals as previous suspensions have all been of the one game variety. The last time a player was suspended in the Stanley Cup finals came in 2007 when Anaheim’s Chris Pronger received a one game ban for elbowing Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond in the head.

Senior VP of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy had this to say about the hit:

“Two factors were considered in reaching this decision,” said NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy. “The hit by Rome was clearly beyond what is acceptable in terms of how late it was delivered after Horton had released the puck and it caused a significant injury.”

With Vancouver being without Aaron Rome and with a lingering injury to Dan Hamhuis, they’re going to have to fill ranks from within falling back to either Keith Ballard or Chris Tanev to take his spot on the blue line the rest of the way out. While Rome isn’t a top flight defender, he earned his spot in the lineup and earned coach Alain Vigneault’s trust. With him having to fall back on Ballard or Tanev he’s either putting his faith into a player who lost his trust and spot in the lineup in Ballard or a rookie in Tanev.

There won’t be anyone feeling too bad for Vancouver in this instance as Rome’s importance to Vancouver is dwarfed by how important Nathan Horton is for Boston. The trade off isn’t fair by any means but the punishment given to Rome fits the situation and how the league needed to take a tougher stand on questionable and dirty hits delivered to players’ heads. If this is the kind of change that could be on the way in the future, perhaps the game will be a bit safer.

Aaron Rome made a statement about the hit issued through the team.

“I want to express my concern for Nathan’s well being and wish him a quick and full recovery. I try to play this game honestly and with integrity. As someone who has experienced this type of injury I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it. I will not take away my teammates’ focus on the task at hand and intend to speak at an appropriate time in future.”

Rome doesn’t have a history at all with dirty hits delivered and he too was knocked out of action for a short while in the playoffs this year. During the Western Conference finals against San Jose he was taken out thanks to a questionable hit from Sharks forward Jamie McGinn. McGinn was not suspended for the hit.

This won’t be the last time we’ll have an instance like this, but considering how severe the punishment was to Rome in this instance without any prior record perhaps the league is finally getting serious.