Ovechkin apologizes
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Alexander Ovechkin apologized on Tuesday for the hit from behind on Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell in a statement released by the Washington Capitals.
Campbell will miss the next seven to eight weeks with a broken collarbone and fractured rib.
Ovechkin was suspended two games by the NHL.
Here is Ovechkin's statement:
"I am very sorry that Brian was injured and I hope he is able to return to his team soon. NHL hockey is a physical game. We all play hard every time we are on the ice and have battles each shift in every game we play so we can do our jobs and win.
"As players we must accept responsibility for our actions and I am no different but I did not intend to injure Brian and that is why I was disappointed with the NHL's decision yesterday. Every time I have the honor to play for my team, I will continue to do what I have done since I was taught to play.
"I will play hard, play with passion and play with respect for my teammates, opponents and fans. I look forward to returning to my team and doing everything I can to be the best player I can be."
You should be accountable to your teammates first. The problem is, these kids have never played without a cage, nanny state type refs and leagues who bought that Gretzky crap. Gretzky, a phony who had Semenko and all the other guys. The Caps or any other team should be saying in the locker room to a cheap shot artist like him..."you do that crap you're on your own, you're a hard honest player? we'll be right there with you".
And the lack of leadership on the BlackHawks is glaring...they should give the "C" to Ladd.
MC, I agree that parts of the game are over officiated and do not like seeing players go after a guy for a clean hit (I am speaking in general terms here and not a specific incident).
However, I disagree about Gretzky being a phony. From the time he was a Novice (9 years old) through the NHL he was the most hated and targeted player. Every coach wanted to neutralize him if not outright hurt him.
As a Novice he scored something like 350+ goals in 70 some games. You just know that in Canada that there had to have been some amateur coaches that would do anything to stop him - by any means. But he survived.
When he played juniors he was a in his mid teens playing against 19 and 20 year olds trying to make it to the big time and were not about to be outsmarted, outplayed and outscored by a 150 lb twig. Again, they went after him as did every NHL team in later years. He survived without a Semenko or sympathetic NHL governing body to protect him.
The guy is not a phony.
I'll grant you he's not a phony, but for at least the last 5 years of his career if you sneezed too closed to him, you got 2 minutes for roughing.
i told you mike, i'd get thumbs down on any post to do with accountability,go read the boynton comments..............these strokedichs!....talk to you later.
I know how to make this whole thing go away. Washington agrees to take Huet back
I hated this POS before this hit. My 10yr old, and all the kids he plays with thinks he's a cheap shot,too. When you start losing the kids...
I'm going to be called a dinosaur here but, look at the tape. Campbell was on his way down already. Ovechkin then two hand pushed him down...it accelerated Campbell's downward 'mo, and he was already going down hard. It was cheap and a p-ssy way to attempt to injure. That's not "strength" it's using your body weight to accelerate an object already moving.
"In the old days"...when players weren't coddled, and were able to police themselves this never would have happened.
And if it did, there would be hell to pay. And that's the way it should be.
The league is over officiated. Back then, players like Ovechkin would be held accountable by their peers AND their teammates. Teammates wouldn't back dirty players like Sean Avrey or this guy back then, no matter how good they were.
Now it seems the players are taught to look to the league to do their job.
And IMHO, Andrew Ladd is the only player on this team who is a throwback.
And if Ovechkin would have to worry about retaliation...he wouldn't be doing this stuff.
i agree, the minute you mention anything as far as retribution some of these guys hammer you! screw that give me brian burke anyday as a gm, hell i bet tallon would have traded for a policeman the minute toews got cleaned up earlier this year! not this guy, i don't know what they are thinking, you watch mike ,i'll get hammered for even mentioning something like this! amazing!!..later!
As a kid , playing sometimes you hurt your brother or a friend. Sure it was innocent and you are sorry . As a pro player , come on . He has to be more careful. He is not a 5 year old kid. He is a pro . Sure he is sorry he ended campbells season. It makes him look like the goon he can be ! And some times is! (That is like saying - I may have shot the guy , but I didnt mean to kill him !- )
Did you see Boudreau's even lamer comments? "He didn't go to hurt him. He went to hit him, and he hit him, but the hit didn't cause the damage. The boards caused the damage."
What??? I can't stop shaking my head over the audacity of those remarks. I'd love to see this argument in a murder trial: "Your honor, my client may have pulled the trigger, but it was the bullet that killed the victim, not my client."
Definitely agree. Sounds like he fits in well in D.C., that's for sure. A real tell-it-like-it-is leader of men....
and on the edge.
Campbell got hurt and that is unfortunate, but Ovechkin does not try to hurt people.
His style with his size, speed, strength and passion means players will get hurt around him.
To think he is a 'jag' or whatever, is just not intelligent. He should not have shoved Campbell from behind and from the looks of it, he knew it immediatley.
Apology accepted. The 2 game suspension not what we would all like to see, but that is on Colin Campbell, not Ovechkin.
Nobody would be jumping up and down calling for his scalp had the stupid Hawks not folded like a rotten poker player, in the 3rd period.
Injuries are part of the game. Some big, Some not.
With five weeks left in the regular season, Campbell will be back by Round 2.
With or without Campbell, the Hawks goaltending is a GIANT question mark that may make Campbell's Round 2 return irrelevant.
Big money, timely saves were not the order of the 'goalie tryout' weekend.
To not see that is seeing the Hawks with 'Shiny Happy People' glasess on.
I have no problem with Ovechkin playing hard, but he also plays dirty more than occasionally.
His history of knee on knee, slew foot, boarding all show this.
Trying to minimize Ovechkin's cheap shots because "injuries are part of the game" or the Hawks have goaltending questions is simply trying to change the subject................. something I would want to do if I were Ovechkin.
Aw, what a cute little post. Did mommy leave the computer on extra long for you tonight, snookums?
Not much the Hawks can do about this now but I sure hope someone added Ovechkin's name to a "memory" list. I doubt he intentionally crashed Campbell into the boards with intent to injure but he was still extremely careless with what amounted to a useless play. The Hawks may not play Washington again until 2011 or 2012 but they'll play them eventually. Hopefully it will be preseason so any shenanigans aren't part of a real game like they were in that Pittsburgh game back in December.....though the extra curriculars did make that game quite entertaining.
Anyway, the guys running the league are really looking like a bunch of buffoons. The random helter skelter way they dish out suspensions...or not...defies logic and reality. There was no question that the hits on Savard last week and Booth earlier in the year were done with intent to injure. If they want to eliminate these cheapshots guys need to be suspended for a half a season or more. Otherwise it is as sure as the sun rising in the east that a superstar player like Crosby or Lidstrom....or Ovechkin.....is going to be seriously injured one day very soon.
Ovechkin didn't write that apology, there was no broken English in it. Every time he speaks his English is choppy at best. Are we to believe he can type English better than he speaks it? Give me a break.
Has the guts to apologize face-to-face next time they meet, or has the PR folks get the two in touch for a phone chat at least, looks like neither player has much else to do this week.
Ovie you got suspended because you've have 3 game misconducts this year. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. I appreciate the apology, but I sincerely hope he wrote it. I like Toews leadership by saying the players need to respect each other in those types of situations. Ovie plays tough but I'd respect him more if he knew where that line is.
We have to remember here that these guys are PROFESSIONAL skaters, they can stop, turn, and think on a dime. High School players in Illinois wear STOP signs on their back. If you can see the sign, don't touch the guy. Its basic in the game of hockey. Yes, he didn't "launch" himself into campbell, but you, me, and especially him knew he didn't have to in order to destroy him. I wish campbell was 2 feet closer to the boards when he got pushed as he may not have hit so hard and been so exposed. But the fact that a push even happened is a disgrace
Had one of our guys done it, I would be mad. Not as mad as I am right now, but would say he deserves everything he gets. It also should be said that Ovie is a superstar. Dmen know who is bearing down on them. Had that been Jarko Ruutu, Campbell may have "defended" himself a bit more, but I guarantee Mike Green would have approached the play the same way if Toewes was bearing down on him knowing that he has more class and skill than to cheapily bury him into the boards from behind.
Total joke. I just wish Ovechkin didn't get booted from the game, would have really liked to see how the Hawks would have responded to him. We lost anyway, so 3 different guys taking turns trying to punch his visor though his teeth would have been nice. Just wondering if it actually would have happened...
Be glad he apoligized. Jack Tatum never did apologize for his hit that paralyzed Darryl Stingley.
Im sure Jack Tatum didn't have 3 marketing people who's only job is to "clean up" and make sure apology speeches are made. Back then, only person that could maybe force him to appologize would be the owner.
Stick down, don't leave the skates, open ice hit, shoulder planted right on his jaw.
BAIT:
"I am very sorry that Brian was injured and I hope he is able to return to his team soon."
...AND SWITCH:
"...I was disappointed with the NHL's decision yesterday. Every time I have the honor to play for my team, I will continue to do what I have done since I was taught to play."
TRANSLATION
BAIT:
I have to say some politically-correct things upfront to protect my future marketing and salary dollars, and buzzwords like "honor" work really well for that -- just like "liberty" and "patriot" do in American politics.
...AND SWITCH:
But, I think that the leagues call was bullsh** and I will run players like Brian Campbell's face into the boards the next time I get a chance -- especially on soft teams like the Hawks where you can bet money there will be no physical consequences for me.
I know I'm taking a little "artistic license", but that is sure how the quote sounded to me.
What happened to Campbell should be no surprise to anyone. The only surprise to me is that Campbell lasted this long. He has been getting run all year with no backup whatsoever from his teammates.
At first I was guessing that Campbell must be an extremely unpopular teammate, but now it seems like the real answer is that this team has no backbone or sense of loyalty to one another. Hanging out together on the road is one thing - standing up for each other is another.
"But, I think that the leagues call was bullsh** and I will run players like Brian Campbell's face into the boards the next time I get a chance -- especially on soft teams like the Hawks where you can bet money there will be no physical consequences for me."
"and i will run players like Brian Campbell's face into the boards the next time i get a chance....."
Players that say that dont score 60 goals a year. Ovechkin hits a lot and you dont seem to have a probolem with it until its on OUR defenseman. His hit was dirty, but like Ovechkin said himself, and this isnt in his exact words: "It happens a lot, those little pushes". you see a player dish the puck off and get a little push from he player pursuing him, Campbell was just off balance and by the boards, and i have a feeling Ovechkin knew that. Wrong place at the wrong time, i think
A talented one to be sure, but if you look at his history, it's full of cheap shots and attempts to injure.
Actions are the telltale of intent, and Ovechkin repeatedly acts to injure people, be it targeting knees, slew-footing, boarding.
For the first part of his career Stan Mikita was the dirtiest stick guy in the league.
I wear the Indianhead on my heart but Ovechkin, as far as I am concerned, should being the Hall of Fame NOW!
Who else plays with the abilities, passion, and drive than this guy?!?!?!?
Face it ... you would trade any Hawk for him.
Enough already, he says, she says....
It was unfortunate, and no one thinks it was not unfortunate.
In my heart, I honestly don't think Ovechkin EVER entered ANY game placing his sights on a target on one players back, just ALL the opposition.
And like everyone here, you are entitled to your opinions.
But it is disturbing that in the "two season Hawk come together", how many of you have a sense of entitlement, whether about Campbell, Buff, Kane or Niemi, you pass judgement on individuals day by day, in a team sport.
Sometimes it's better to see where things take you, before you think you are convinced you know the place you are going.
bon Voyage
wiz,as well as you are entitled to your opinion! some of us just don't like the way the game is all sissyed up today, hell ovies a great talent and your right we would probably love him if he had the indianhead on just as roenick in the 90's! but hell to say anybody that fights is a thug is off base! bob probert was not a thug,he made the allstars and played a decent leftwing as well as providing yzerman,nichols,roenick as well as others a sense of security in his era! thats more than i could say for any of these sally's on this current team, i suppose al secord and curt fraser were thugs too!
Ovechkin is not a thug. A thug is someone who cannot play the game and is simply out there for muscle. I wouldn't even put Probert in that class. Probert was the undisputed heavyweight champ of the NHL for numerous years and during those years he was putting up some solid offensive numbers as well. He even went to an All Star game. For a guy who was the primary enforcer for his team, that's saying something. Maybe not Ovechkin numbers but Ovechkin isn't "answering the bell" for all of his teammates either.
What I will say about Ovechkin is that he plays recklessly. I've seen him lose target on a check and stick out a knee. I've seen him slew foot players when his check didn't get them to the ground. And now I've seen him run one of our guys into the boards in a dangerous spot on the ice when NOTHING good was going to come from the check. I think he gets his rocks off on trying to make the big hit and when it doesn't come to him he gets careless. This is what Tazer was talking about when he said there are some guys who don't respect other guys as much as they should and they get careless at dangerous spots on the ice.
I would never want to see anyone take the edge out of Ovechkin's game because that's one of the things I think is missing in today's NHL. In my opinion Bettman is ruining that part of the game. Ovechkin simply needs to be a little smarter and pick his opportunities a little better.
Think about it this way, if this had happened 20 years ago he wouldn't have received that 5-minute major but what he would have received would have been a jumping at center ice by someone on the Hawks. Now THAT is what I would have liked to have seen.
He is not admitting he did anything wrong and therefore is not apologizing for it.
Saying "I am very sorry that Brian was injured..." is like Tiger Woods saying to his wife: 'I am sorry I woke you up when I came home' - instead of what I did was inexcusably wrong and I should never have done it.
Tim, just because the guy says its an apology doesn't mean you have to report it that way. How about 'Ovechkin shows no remorse and would do it again'?
The NHL's top-secret flow chart for handing out suspensions:
http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2009/11/nhl-suspensions.html
Hilarious, and arguably pretty close to the way the NHL works.
Another famous person in our midst that uses the word "I" too much. Who does this remind you of?
I'm sorry... You're correct, I do focus on myself too much and I do definitely use the word "I" too much when discussing myself and my actions and I will definitely try not to use the word "I" as often as I have to this point in my posting career... I give, who does it remind me of?
huh? my comment was intended at an elected official...not you.
I thought you meant Tiger Woods.
I know it wasn't intended for me... Another example of sarcasm translating poorly on internet message boards. I just didn't get who you were getting at. I was thinking professional sports and not an elected official so I was thinking you were thinking about one of our Hawks who was coasting for a line change in favor of backchecking like a madman with six seconds left in the Philly game -- or someone of that ilk. If it's politics I'm not interested...
Strange Apology:
Paragraph 1: Fair enough. Could have stopped with this.
Paragraph 2: He's going to keep doing it and the NHL was wrong to suspend him.
Paragraph 3: Used the word "I" 4 separate times and the world "my" twice. Hey wasn't this supposed to be about apologizing for injuring Campbell?