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The Real Housewives of the NHL; Gary Bettman, George Parros, & Tom Wilson

Emma Brown / NHL / May 7, 2021

The National Hockey League is a joke.

I don’t mean the individual clubs themselves, I mean the higher ups. The Gary Bettman’s the Bill Daly’s and ESPECIALLY the George Parros’.

George Parros is the head of the department of player safety. He previously played for the Ducks, Panthers, and Canadians. In his 9 seasons in the National Hockey League, he racked up 1092 penalty minutes. That’s quite a few. His on ice role was as an enforcer.

Last week, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson seriously injured New York Rangers forwards Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich. Panarin will not finish the season. Earlier in the season, he sent Bruins player Brandon Carlo to the hospital with a massive concussion. The punishment? A seven game suspension. The punishment for the Rangers incident? Tom Wilson did not receive any suspension. Only a $5,000 fine.

The department of player safety is enabling this behavior from Wilson. He’s a repeat offender but after a certain period of time, offenses are erased from player records and do not affect them anymore.

Following the incident, the Rangers made a public statement explaining how disappointed they were in the league’s reaction, or rather, the league’s lack of reaction. They stated that George Parros is unfit for his role as head of DoPS. On Thursday, the NHL fined the New York Rangers $250,000. Commissioner Gary Bettman said the statement was “personal in nature” and “demeaning of a league executive”. Proceeding the public statement, the Rangers fired president John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton.

I am once again asking for some consistency

If you look at the officiating throughout this season, the inconsistency is truly remarkable. Nathan MacKinnon threw a helmet (It was a toss. He was just giving it back) at another player after a fight. Fined. Joachim Blichfeld made a hit on Nathan MacKinnon. Suspended. Mathew Barzal clearly drew a hooking call. The penalty was not called. Barzal was fined for diving and embellishment. Gabe Landeskog body slammed Conor Garland to the ground. 2 minute minor.

All hell has broken loose across the league and I think 5’8, 104-year-old Gary Bettman is just seeing the beginning of it. Hope he has MediCare.

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