Graves and Beukeboom on hand

April 26, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

It came as no surprise that former Ranger teammates Adam Graves and Jeff Beukeboom were both on hand for yesterday’s shellacking. Both were integral parts of the 1993-94 Stanley Cup championship team who still are pretty involved here with Graves working for the club and the man known as Beuke frequently on hand for home games.

Both still look to be in good shape and probably could’ve been used by the lifeless club Sunday. I talked to Graves about the refereeing in particular with the missed Donald Brashear cheapshot coming up to which he indicated it should’ve been a major and game. When asked about the two ref system, he supported it because of how fast the game has become. But he was also quick to note that sometimes, the action is too fast which might better explain how some penalties get missed.

Still, one can’t help but wonder if the current standard that’s programmed to look for every tug isn’t paying as much mind to more serious infractions like the suspendable elbow Brashear landed on Blair Betts probably finishing his season. Aren’t those the kind of late cheapshots that the league wants to eliminate? This from a player who once took a two hander from Marty McSorley in response to another cheapshot. Maybe next time, someone will take his head off and then the NHL will have a real nightmare on their hands.

If Brashear isn’t suspended after how they handed out the proper suspension to Ranger coach John Tortorella for his appalling behavior during Game 5, then there’s something wrong.

We’ll know soon enough if the NHL has any backbone or if they’ll just turn a blind eye. One thing’s become abundantly clear. You never can tell what this league is thinking anymore.