The Kings were very lucky in the third period tonight, when Wayne Simmonds got a five-minute major penalty for butt-ending, and a game misconduct, with the Kings leading 4-3. The Avalanche tied the game before Brad Richardson scored a game-winning shorthanded goal. Replays were inconclusive, but Simmonds appeared to jam TJ Galiardi below the belt with the end of his stick. After the game, Simmonds said he wouldn’t comment on the hit before the NHL office reviewed it. Murray was asked whether he thought Simmonds would receive punishment from the league.
MURRAY: “I don’t know. I’m not real sure what the actual call was. A five-minute major, but was there anything more on there? I don’t know. Was it a game misconduct? Was it a match penalty? I don’t know that yet. I haven’t seen it. I would think there would be a look at it, from the league.”
That call was weak sauce…if you’re going to have the lineman call the supposed butt end, then call the interference on Simmonds a second before it happened….oh well, we won, karma.
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brian spain Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 12:44 am
@DellaNooch, How could Simmonds have butt ended the player, his right shoulder never moved. All the guys on here bagging on Simmonds, watch his right shoulder, it doesn’t move toward the Avs player at all.
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Goon2503 Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 8:11 am
@brian spain,
You can easily butt end somebody without moving your shoulder. Like a pool cue, just slide your arm. Trust me, it hurts. And the guy wouldn’t fold without reason, I am sure he was butt ended. It didn’t look vicious, and maybe not even intentional, but if it was, it was a totally selfish play.
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Dazed N Confused Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
@Goon2503,
If you watch the play again his right hand does not move or slide down the stick. The guy felt a tap on sons cup and sold the play. His talents would be better used in Hollywood. How many times have you seen the fantom high sticks? This was total crap!!!!
What was Simmer thinking??? He’ll get a minimum of 2 maybe 3 games for butt ending. He should have fought him instead
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Belexes Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:00 pm
@Timbo from Canada,
Are you sure about that? It’s happened 2 times recently witout suspension.
Boogaard on Neil-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHnyWlgjPjw&feature=player_embedded
Lucic on Neil –
http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/86393
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tuan jim Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
@Belexes,
Was it a Lucic punch during the fight or the high stick that cut Neil’s face?
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holly Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:25 pm
@Timbo from Canada,
I think what it will really come down to is how the league sees it. Obviously, there are a number of different ways to read it. I see it as a butt end, but one that was helped along from a poke to a full on slam by the theatrics of Galiardi. But really, Simmer should know better. Regardless of how forcefully he intended to deliver it, a butt end is still a cheap shot. That said, he’s a young guy with a reputation for playing clean.
Because he was given a game misconduct as required for a major (which was assessed because he completed the butt end), not a match penalty (which would indicate injury), he’ll probably be okay. For a first offense that doesn’t involve injury, at most he’ll get a slap on the wrist.
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tkecanuck341 Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
I really like Wayne Simmonds, but Wayne…If you’re gonna do crap like this, go play for the Ducks.
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I want to see what he did to Simmonds to make him retaliate.
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I didn’t see where it make contact IF it did at all. I think the dive hurt him more than the supposed butt end.
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puck73 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:23 pm
@Buster, So that player was faking huh? Who did you think this guy was, Forsberg? Bill Barber? Dave Karpa? Give me a break, Simmonds tried to be sneaky and he got busted and I will be very surprised if he isnt suspended.
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brian spain Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 12:46 am
@puck73, Puck, that was a total dive, Simmonds didn’t make any move with his stick toward the player. his left hand fell off his stick, like he was trying to draw a hooking penalty.
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CiscoC Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 8:53 am
@puck73,
I guess the Colorado Divealanche tradition lives on!
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USHA#17 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:28 pm
@Buster,
It was hard to due to depth distortion from long range camera lenses but from the camera angle but it appeared to be one of two things.
Either Simmonds may have pulled his stick to avoid hitting the linesman while letting go of butt end so it swing away from the Colorado player (who then exaggerated the situation)
Or
It was one of the dirtier plays I’ve seen in a while.
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jamesonafterawin Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:50 pm
@USHA#17, Good point. Considering the player Simmons, he was coming up on the linesman on the right kinda quick.
And has he ever even done anything like this before, nope. Not that I’m aware of.
And Simmons didn’t have anuff momentum on the stick to dent mashed potato’s.
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dcf Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 11:47 pm
@USHA#17, Or he meant to butt-end galiardi a bit in the belly, but got him in the grapes. Simmonds really didn’t hit him that hard, so he must have hit just the right spot.
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King John Reply:
October 25th, 2010 at 12:58 am
@dcf,
the wrong spot…
that soured me on simmonds a little bit.
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puck73 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:27 pm
@SirKingsly, I feel the same way, I will get over it like you will but at least you can look at something and give an honest assessment on it unlike a lot of my fellow Kings fans on this site, I am very dissapointed in a lot of people tonite on this blog. a lot of you people sound a lot like Brian Hayward..someone who couldnt give an unbiased opinion if he tried. Why dont some of you go on the Avs blog tonite and see what their fans think of that butt-end!
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USHA#17 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:39 pm
@puck73,
Comments amounts to a butt to the balls.
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Forum67 Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 2:47 am
@puck73,
I think no one knows for sure what this incident entails in its entirety. Clearly no one posting here can get inside Simmonds head and know what his intent was. And only Galliardi knows for sure the severity of the blow. And even Galliardi allowed that Simmonds does not have a reputation for this kind of thing. And none of the replays I saw even begins to indicate that it was a viscious butt end.
All of the above notwithstanding I cannot condone butt ending, whether it’s being perpetrated by a goon or a player I like. So all anyone who is posting on this incident is doing is speculating, myself included. That being said I think Simmonds DID mean to give Galliardi a butt end. I do NOT think he meant to injure Galliardi and I do NOT think he meant to strike him in the groin.
AND I am willing to wait to hear what Simmonds has to say about it when and if he decides to say anything about after the NHL has made its review.
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jet Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:30 pm
@SirKingsly, Don’t let it. That was one of the dirtier games I have seen in a while and you only see half of the crap on TV. Next time he cue balls someone he needs to have a loose hold of the stick with his left hand, not move the left hand anas he slides the stick thur the glove. The stationary hand makes it tough for the refs to pick up the action. It is tough to have to resort to that stuff, but if the other team is playing dirty and they won’t fight, then it is what is available.
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Yeah, on replay it looked pretty dirty to me. But maybe something happened when Simmer was sandwiched there.
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Danielle Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:01 pm
@cjms,
I’d love to see another angle because I’ve watched the replay several times and it looked like Galiardi grabbed at Simmonds arm or his stick and that is part of what caused it to hit him. If you watch it, Galiardi is clearly reaching his hand in front of Simmonds and it looks like he is grabbing Simmonds’ stick right before he gets jabbed.
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John Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 11:25 pm
@Danielle,
Yep exactly, Galiardi clearly grabbed Simmer’s stick as he was trying to skate by. There was no butt end – MAYBE the end of Simmond’s stick hit some part of Galiardi’s body, but that IS NOT butt ending! Whatever
For all you calling Wayne out as dirty now, well that’s a freaking joke!
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Mark Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 9:18 am
@Danielle, I 100% agree with you, but I will take it further. What I think Galiardi did was hold the stick, but for too long! It caused him to fall over, and then he faked an injury to avoid a penalty. Soccer players do this all the time, and I am pretty sure this is what happened last night.
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Danielle Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 11:55 am
@Mark,
That I disagree with. He did get hit. And I do think Simmonds may have jabbed at him in the process. But I do think it all started with him having his hand on Simmonds hand/stick and it was basically accidental (or, at least not an intentional “butt-end”).
i think it was a game that was poorly referee’d and players were getting away with taking liberties so things escalated…but that’s still no excuse.
simmonds might have thought he was retaliating for the team but it was a selfish action on his part and could–and perhaps should–have cost the kings the game. luckily the lord (stanley) is a kings fan.
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Galen Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:37 pm
@rontheking, +1
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puck73 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:37 pm
@rontheking, Very well said. And hey, we are still Simmonds fans but we cant excuse that.
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rumpa#19 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:42 pm
@puck73, Never played hockey I bet?
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puck73 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:07 pm
@rumpa#19, I played Defense for 21 years and I definately know how to try and get away with stuff and camoflauge it so it is hard for a Referee to make the call.
Didn’t anyone see the Avs player holding Simmond’s stick also? Maybe Simmonds was just trying to wrestle back control of his stick because the Avs player was holding it with his right hand. We should wait until more conclusive video is available before judging Simmonds on this incident. Great play and hustle tonight by Stoll tonight.
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puck73 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:43 pm
@DesertKing, That was a pool cue shot to the gut, I have seen it before in the NHL and when I played in different leagues locally around here.
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Danielle Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:04 pm
@puck73,
Disagree. I play and I have had people tell me how to get away with those kind of shots. DesertKing is right. If you watch the replay, it certainly looks like Galiardi is reaching in and grabbing Simmonds stick or arm right before it happens. It looked to me like Simmonds did jab back a little, but it seemed like he was trying to get Galiardi to let go. If you watch the slow-mo replay in reverse, the reach around is really clear.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 9:23 am
@Danielle,
That’s what it looked like to me, too. I was looking forward to having Simmonds confirm it in his comments, because he’s never been accused of being remotely dirty before.
DellaNooch Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:05 pm
@puck73, I have seen a butt end before to, it typically happens when you have TWO hands on your stick, not one…replays can be tough to judge, but it looked pretty weak to me.
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puck73 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:10 pm
@DellaNooch, It was done with his left hand, and yes I did it to somebody years ago in a game who was talking junk and I got thrown out. Dont tell me that it is not possible to inflict damage with one hand when I have done it before.
USHA#17 Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:43 pm
@DesertKing,
The Kopitar Monster was out of the castle tonight kicking Colorado butt.
Drewiske auditioned for the Randy Jones award.
Simmonds, a league bad boy? Need to see the video from the front.
From one line clicking to three lines.
For the past three games Williams has owned the boards.
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408kingfan Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 12:03 am
@USHA#17, Amen
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Uchew2 Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 12:06 am
@USHA#17,
Drewiske was a lot better tonight than Randy Jones was and ever will be. He made a pass that was well anticipated by an Avs player. Other than that pass #44 was on top of it all night winning board battles. Plus, with the altitude effect, there were lots of tired skaters on the Kings bench. It seemed like Drewiske was always on the rink, especially in the 3rd. Whiskey must be a conditioning freak.
Williams made the ultimate assist of the season on Brown’s goal.
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USHA#17 Reply:
October 26th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
@Uchew2,
No argument, DD2 is much better then Jones. DD2 is not consistent however. While he is playing better he’s placed the puck directly and dangerously in front of our goalie at least twice each game. Against the AVs he batted the puck from behind the net to an Av player standing in the crease. Later he went for a hit rather then a puck and clearly cost us a goal.
Now someone, be it DD2, DD, JJ or any player will make these mistakes at some point but DD2 is the one under the microscope at this time and place.
Forum67 Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 2:52 am
@USHA#17,
I disagree about Drewiske. He did have the giveaway that led directly to a goal but other than that he played a strong game, especially in the third period.
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As Aerosmith once said “Night in the Ruts!!”
Ouch!! Yes, it was bad, and yes, our guy did it.
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he may have got him in the nads, but unless the guy wasnt wearing a cup he tried to sell that call big time…even more so than an Italian soccer player.
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Embelishment ………
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HNIC had a better angle of it, its pretty dirty. Doesn’t matter what was said or done before that, you do not butt end a guy, especially where he got him..
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I’m a huge Simmer fan, but butt ending a guy in the crotch is pretty dirty. Although Galiardi seemed to really sell it unless he was wearing a cup. Still, no excuse for butt ending a player, and he should get a suspension. Of course, it all depends on where Campbell’s wheel of discipline lands. Simmer will learn from it and it probably won’t happen again because we aren’t the Ducks- a collection of dirty goons who cheap shot players just because they can.
Speaking of the Ducks, how long do you think it’ll be until people on Ducks blogs find out about the hit and start ragging on the Kings and how they’re the “dirtiest team in the league and always have been”. LOL, gotta love those Anaheim fans.
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Like i said in an earlier post…There was no butt end. He got an accidental crotch shot.
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Joel Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 11:11 pm
@Jimbo, I don’t think it was an accidental play judging by Simmonds’ reaction. He skated off the ice and into the locker room without arguing at all. He looked like he expected to get kicked out.
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Blake Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 11:08 am
@Joel, or he’s just a good sport, why argue when A your not a captin and B the refs only going to make it longer if anything, look what happened to rypin from vancover
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Joel Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
@Blake, It’s human nature to argue a call whether you’re a captain or not. I don’t know if there was intent by Simmonds to injure, but the play resulted in an ejection and he skated to the locker room without any fuss.
I don’t like the Rypien comparison because that guy had no inkling of self control at all. It’s possible to be unhappy with a call and argue, while still showing a bit of self control.
I admit that I could still be wrong and that there was a dive with minimal contact, but I still hold the same opinion after watching the replay of the incident and Simmonds’ subsequent reaction a number of times.
Jman Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
@Joel, I agree. I think he knew what he did was dirty and probably was embarrassed because he isn’t that type of player. I don’t understand how anyone can watch the replay and think that was not an intentional butt end…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt2oNqYzDYo
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Is it a new rule? I think this is the first time I hear in a Kings game.
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holly Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:31 pm
@zdfun,
Butt ending?
No. It just doesn’t happen all that frequently because it’s widely regarded as one of the shadier things you can do.
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The replay I saw (NHL On the Fly) had no context whatsoever, but there was clearly a butt-end there.
It didn’t hit him in the nuts, nor would you want to. That really wouldn’t do anything compared to a butt-end in the gut, where you’re exposed.
There’s no way to know whether Galiardi was embellishing without knowing how hard the butt-end was. You can seriously harm someone with a butt-end, or it can be a love-tap — or anywhere in between.
I’m not condoning it. But I would have to know the context to have an opinion of how serious it is.
In amateur hockey, butt-ending was grounds for expulsion from the USAHL (when I was a kid). I’ve never thrown a butt-end, but I’ve been the recipient of maybe five of them. They’re virtually all shots to the gut. Like I tried to say, you could seriously hurt someone, or you could knock the wind out of them, or you could bruise them, or it could do nothing. I never received one that was so painful that I couldn’t embellish it to make it look worse.
I’ll tell you one thing. Simmonds didn’t just skate up to the guy and butt-end him for no reason. When NHL.com has the highlights up, I will certainly be looking to see what happened leading up to the play, and if there is an angle that shows clearly what Galiardi is up to, if anything.
If Galiardi was holding his stick (such that the refs — who didn’t see the butt-end either — couldn’t see) then I can totally understand (not CONDONE) Simmonds’s frustration and retaliation. But we’ll see if the video shows that.
p.s. as a butt-end, just on technical level, this one was borderline incompetent. You deliver a butt-end by putting your glove on the player and shoving the stick through the glove, but your glove stays on the player. I could see, on the angle I saw, about 18″ of stick. There’s no way you don’t get caught doing THAT. A well-executed butt-end, nobody sees anything.
Since Simmonds obviously would know that, I kind of suspect it wasn’t that well thought-out.
He’s going to get suspended for sure, I would think. 2-5 games?
I’m going to go to see if i can find those replays now…
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holly Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 11:27 pm
@Quisp,
This is going to be one of those rare moments that we agree to disagree. Unless it’s one of those days where Campbell is in a mood (you know, the ones that happen with no way to predict and happen significantly based on whether the other player happens to be named Crosby or Ovechkin), I think Wayne’ll get the fine and it’ll be over with.
That said, if he does something that even vaguely toes the line for the rest of the season, they’ll come down on him with the book and cite this as reasoning.
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Quisp Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 12:31 am
@holly,
Well, I may end up disagreeing with myself, too. I just reread my comment, and I sound pretty agnostic.
I do assume that a buttend will earn some discipline from the league. You could be right though.
I do think it has to do with stuff we aren’t privy to, like what the linesman saw and what the interaction between the players actually was. The league will interview everyone, if they’re going to do anything, so all of that would be taken into consideration.
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Joel Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 12:15 am
@Quisp, I’ve seen the replay a number of times now on the Fox Sports West broadcast, and you can’t see if Galliardi did anything to precipitate some kind of retaliation.
What I did notice was that the butt end of the stick was not used to gain a positional advantage since both players seemed to be coasting. The intent seemed to be to either agitate or retaliate for something. Jim Fox commented that he didn’t see the force, but I think he was focused on Simmonds’ left hand, and not his right hand which applied the thrust.
I don’t know the history of these types of incidents, but I would expect to see a suspension out of this.
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Danielle Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
@Quisp,
I think part of the reason it wasn’t a “typical” butt-end is that, at least from the replay I saw (and watched several times), Galiardi was grabbing at Simmonds hand or stick. It seemed to me that, while Simmonds may have jabbed at him a little, it was more of an attempt to get free of Galiardi. But I only saw the FSW replay… did you see another?
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When I first saw the replay, I thought it was inconclusive based on the camera angle. Since it is so rarely called, I figured that the official must have been darn sure about what he saw so I didn’t question the call. However I did look up the text of the rule just to make sure that I remembered it correctly. I thought it was intentionally jabbing another player with the butt end of the stick but not necessarily.
58.1 Butt-ending – The action whereby a player uses the shaft of the stick, above the upper hand, to check an opposing player in any manner or jabs or attempts to jab an opposing player with this part of the stick.
I was kinda struck by the wording “a player uses the shaft of the stick, above the upper hand, to check an opposing player in any manner”. Seems like it should be called more often based on that, doesn’t it? Even the bad angle replay shows he guilty of at least that much. That’s not to say that Galiardi didn’t sell the hell out of it but it doesn’t really matter. Just because he sold it doesn’t mean it didn’t actually happen. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what he should do. Got his team a nice 5 minute PP & they scored. Well played TJ Galiardi!
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When my nuts get all swollen
they sometimes turn blue
with a buldge in my trousers woolen
I blush sometimes, yes it is true!
But discoloration, it means I am sullen
with hair on end, large dingleberries too
It means I am horny, or perhaps misaligned
With infection, insomnia or even the flu
I cry for relief, I hope its not true
Smoking and drinking in the company of fine womens
But my pain is severe, and all that much worse
when my swelling comes from the stick of Wayne Simmonds!
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rontheking Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 9:29 am
@Doc. Mark 1968,
an inspired way of driving home your point in a deeply felt manner!
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Butt Ends are dangerous and subtle. Just because the replay does not show anything conclusive or “major” does not mean he won’t get suspended. Simmonds will get suspended and deserves it. However, not that there is a relation between this and Hejduk, but Hejduk’s high stick on Ryan Smyth should definitely be reviewed by the Committee. The severity of that high stick looked like hejduk had intended to injure Smyth.
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It was a stupid thing for Simmonds to do. I could see him getting off because the NHL has whack methods for determining suspensions, but I won’t be complaining if he gets a game or two.
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Having seen the replay of above, it seemed obvious to me that the Av’s Player was trying to hold up the forechecking Simmonds, and thus should have been called for interference(new rules). The rest transpires as Simmonds attempts to break through and forecheck.
Something noteworthy here is that no Colorado player attempted to retaliate, which suggests total lack of support for a team-mate, or they didn’t believe anything of intent took place.
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If galiardi was so hurt by it why was he out on the ice skating perfectly fine right after the “butt ending”
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Dan SanDonkey Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
@Mark, because he sold it
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@Dan sandonkey
that was my point exactly!
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rontheking Reply:
October 24th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
@Mark,
yeah, but if you heard him after that, his voice was much higher….
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a bird in the hand is better than a stick in the bush
suck it up rockheads…………….the mountain is too hard to climb…………….gooooooooooooooo kings!
its hockey remember pucks and sticks?
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These guys wear cups the size of volleyballs and are probably case-hardened. While WS should be smarter, Gali took a dive. He did say WS wasn’t that kind of a player, which was a stand-up thing to do.
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Like Joe Louis said after the second Clay-Liston fight: “I been hit harder by a shotta whiskey.”
Butt-ending is wrong and should be punished. But despite Galiardi’s Oscar-winning performance, there’s nothing that Simmer did that compares with what McSorley or Larry Robinson did in their day in front of God and everybody, without any league reprisals.
I don’t see Simmer’s act as a suspension-worthy offense.
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Playing jr A & college in the early 80′s with only one ref. butt ending was very common, mostly in the corners, but would also happen alot in front of the net.
I also knew of several players who did not wear cups, back in the day (fyi; none were goalies..lol)
I can tell you, that was not a butt end, in addition “I believe” he sold it. That being said, there are a few nerves on the high part of the the thigh, near the groin, that if you just get tapped can hurt like a mother and then the pain fades rather quickly
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