Tuesday 17 January 2012

Karma Police

I wouldn't say I'm the biggest Radiohead fan, but the song Karma Police has a certain catchy sound that I can't shake out of my head when I hear it. And it's been running through my head all day today after reading that Daniel Carcillo's season is over as he underwent knee surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. I'm not hear to celebrate his injury or even revel in the fact that he has been shelved for the next six months, but I think that sometimes karma comes back to bite someone in the rear end in a big way.

Remember this hit from two weeks ago?

You can see that Carcillo injures himself on the play after he recklessly hammers Tom Gilbert into the boards. Carcillo didn't return to the game, but it wouldn't have mattered as he was assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct for his heinous check. Game, set, match for Carcillo.

A couple of days later, Brendan Shanahan had his say on the hit, and he wasn't impressed either. "Not only does Carcillo not minimize contact, he hits Gilbert into the boards with tremendous force," Shanahan said in a video posted on NHL.com. "This is not a case of two players bumping each other for position and one player winning that battle. Nor is it a play in which Gilbert loses balance after initiating a reverse hit.

"At an extremely dangerous distance from the boards, Carcillo finishes high and hard with his hands, using the boards as a weapon."

Shanahan's decision would have sat Daniel Carcillo for another seven games as he is a repeat offender. So while Tom Gilbert suffered with a knee injury that could possibly keep him out for up to a month after Carcillo's hit, Carcillo would have sat for another couple of weeks due to his poor choice. But karma decided that Carcillo needed a little wake-up call on January 2, 2012.

Having committed a number of indiscretions on the ice, the karma police decided to give Daniel Carcillo six months off, a pile of rehab, and a load of pain to deal with as he snapped his ACL on the Gilbert hit. And suddenly, one of the bad guys in the NHL gets what's coming to him.

As Radiohead sang, "This is what you get. This is what you get. This is what you get when you mess with us." And he got a whole cart full of just desserts. Eat it up, Daniel, because you got what was coming in a big way.

And with that, we'll see you next season if rehab goes well. And then maybe you'll think twice before recklessly trying to destroy another player's career. Heck, you might even decide to prolong your career the next time you take a dangerous run at someone!

Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!

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