Randy Jones Hit on Patrice Bergeron

In Saturday's game vs. the Boston Bruins, Flyers defenseman Randy Jones hit Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron against the boards behind the Flyers net in the 2nd period. Bergeron, who lost consciousness for several minutes, laid motionless on the ice for several minutes before being placed on a stretcher and taken the hospital. Thankfully, he was only diagnosed with a concussion and a broken nose.

Jones was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct, which is standard in these types of situations.

Showing remorse for the critically injured Bruin, Jones said: "Words really can't express the way that I feel right now. I am very apologetic for the hit and what I did. It was not intentional. It is something that I have never done before and it is not part of my character. I am extremely sorry. I hope he does ok and everything works out for him. I wish him nothing but the best in his recovery.

This isn’t part of my character. It’s not the type of player I am. I was going to finish my hit and the unfortunate outcome was he got injured. You never ever want to see someone … get carried off on a stretcher like that. This isn’t something I take easy or can get over in an hour. It’s gonna take a while for me to get over this."

For anyone who did not see the hit, both Bergeron and Jones were going after a puck that was sitting along the boards to the side of the right goal post (the goalie's right side). Bergeron, who had two to three steps on Jones, turned his back to his trailer about a foot away from the boards to corral the puck. Jones, figuring Bergeron was going to crash the boards to retrieve the puck, crashed into the back of a bent-over Bergeron, driving his face into the stanchion dividing the boards and the glass.

This play was an obvious and easy boarding call for the refs. It was a very unsafe hit to make and Jones was appropriately given his 5-minute major and game misconduct. But because of the severity of the injuries sustained by Bergeron, some hockey fans are calling for a suspension of Randy Jones.

I am ok with the National Hockey League creating a rule that calls for a suspension for any player given a major penalty for boarding. It is an illegal, unsafe and disrespectful type of hit to make. I am not ok with the league making an example out of Randy Jones, however. There were three other incidents in the NHL just this past week that were of similar viciousness; yet none received little, if any media attention or the outcry from fans looking for suspensions.

But because the Flyers had two complete separate incidents earlier this season, fans from around the league want the League Office to come down hard on the Orange and Black.

To Flyers fans, it's a disgusting double standard.

It also brings up the debate on what the League is actually punishing players on. Are the punishing the hit? Or are they punishing based on the result of the hit? It seems to me that if the league wants to get rid of illegal shots to the head and hitting from behind; that they punish all offenders, not just the ones that cause serious injuries.

If yo owned a home that was infested with a rodent problem; would you kill each individual mouse as you see them? Or would you be proactive and put something in place to kill them before they're even seen?

I'd rather have a pro-active NHL; instead of this reactive NHL.