Now that Shawn Thornton’s 15-game suspension is official, let’s take a look at some of reactions from around the league. As you might have guessed after all the controversy this incident has attracted, a spectrum of opinions have been voiced.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Dejan Kovacevic called it “sickening” and compared Thornton’s actions to Todd Bertuzzi’s. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also labeled Thornton’s punishment as “woefully inadequate.”
On the other end of the spectrum, NESN’s Dale Arnold figured the suspension would be about half of what it actually was. Bruins president Cam Neely probably agrees with that.
Meanwhile, Kevin Allen declared this a “fair, defensible sentence” that can be seen as “a victory for those who believe that it is imperative to protect the image of the game” in his USA Today column.
Let’s close things out with some reactions from hockey writers and analysts on Twitter, starting with Eric Macramalla, who writes PHT’s Ask a Lawyer series:
15 games sends a message to potential jurors that NHL takes care of its players brains; although perhaps not a resounding declaration #works
— Eric Macramalla (@EricOnSportsLaw) December 14, 2013
I rip Shanahan plenty. Fifteen games to Thornton is a good call. Lucky it wasn’t 20. That was flat-out assault.
— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) December 14, 2013
Many surprised by 15 gm suspension for Shawn Thornton, but not much to argue if a 10-gamer seemed reasonable. Can’t do what he did. Period
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) December 14, 2013
If you think Thornton’s suspension was unfair, you love the Bruins, or maybe him, or fighters in general. You’re not capable of rationality.
— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) December 14, 2013