Introducing the Marc Savard Rule - Page 2
Campbell is not wrong in that it would be unfair to suspend Cooke for the same behavior that another player was not suspended for. However, he is wrong in that both players should have received some punishment. Hard hits are part of the game, and players are experienced enough to know that if you skate with your head down, bad things happen.
That being said, even skating with your head up can't keep you from getting sideswiped. It can't really be argued definitively whether Cooke (or Richards, for that matter) was really after a head shot or just taking the opportunity to sternly bump an unsuspecting player off the puck, but the rule is bound to change now.
As for Savard? His season is over, and I wouldn't be shocked at all if it meant that his career was, as well. Savard is 32, and this was already his 11th season in the league. That's a long career for any player. Add to that the 75 games Savard missed in three seasons prior to the lockout, and the 23 games he missed earlier this same season with a broken foot, and you have a veteran not exactly known for his durability.
Savard has had a very good career, and would no doubt like to keep going, but Matt Cooke may have just ended that career and rewritten the rule book in one fell swoop.
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