Flyers now stuck with goon reputation

With 45 games of suspensions under their belts before their first home game of the regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers are gaining league wide reputation as a team of dirty players. And that reputation is actually very undeserved. But, never the less, it is overshadowing the fact that their offseason transformations are already paying dividends, with a 2-1 start to the season.

Those suspensions are being served by two players. Steve Downie, owner of a 20 gamer, is a rookie who didn't figure to be a big part of the Flyers plans this season. And Jesse Boulerice, owner of a fresh 25 game suspension, is a well traveled player, with a history of goonery. The team should not be held responsible for the acts of two players, who figured to offer next to nothing to the team this season.

The Boulerice incident is completely inexcusable. Using your stick as a weapon, especially a shot to the head like Boulerice's actions, is something that needs to be eliminated from the game. And the fact that he does not offer a whole to a hockey team in terms of skill, there is no reason the Flyers should even put up with his shenanigans. They should give him his walking papers as soon as another body can be found to fill his roster spot.

However, Downie can not be compared to Boulerice; both his actions and as a player. A lot of people want to call him a dirty player, and his hit against Dean McAmmond in the preseason was just another example of that. But that is not fair. Downie is a high draft pick of the Flyers, who has been trying to work his way onto the big league team since being drafted. Hockey is a physical sport, and in order to be successful you have to be aggressive.

Let's get one thing straight: Downie's hit against McAmmond was not clean. But to call it an act of thuggery is inappropriate. And to compare it to Boulerice's attack is even worse. Downie did not use his stick as a weapon, and he didn't even use an elbow. Yes, he left his feet, and it was a little late, but you can't say there was intent to injure. It was a young guy, being aggressive, trying to make the team.

Granted, that is no excuse for Downie; you have to be in control of your body. But, I go back to the term "intent to injure." If you look back on the previous suspensions comparable to Downie's, they all involved a player trying to injure another play; usually with the stick. So it makes perfect sense for Boulerice to be given that level of suspension, and it probably could have been greater. But Downie, I feel, was unfairly made an example of by the league. And it is even worse to characterize these Flyers based on the actions of two guys; especially considering only one of those guys is deserving of that characterization.