Warren Spahn Jersey Let's start with this: The that the NHL handed defenseman on Friday is a significant one. It really is. Not only because it carries over into the postseason, where he will mi s the Blackhawks' first game against a yet-to-be-determined opponent, but also because it is (if you can believe it) the second-longest suspension handed out by the department of player safety this season for an on-ice incident. It is behind only the 41-game ban Raffi Torres received for his head shot on Anaheim Ducks forward in the preseason. ( 20-game suspension, which was later reduced to 10, was handled by the NHL's hockey operations department, so it was a different group of people determining the punishment for a different kind of action and doesn't fall under the same umbrella within the league.) So this is -- at least based on what the department of player safety has ruled on this season -- not something that can really be considered light. It is also not anywhere near enough because it could have, and should have, been significantly harsher. Not only should Keith be sitting out the remainder of the regular season, he probably should mi s the entire first round of the playoffs and not be eligible to return until -- if -- the Blackhawks reach the second round. This was a nasty, dirty and dangerous play by a player that not only knew exactly what he was doing, but also has been punished for doing the exact same thing previously in his career. The league was exceptionally harsh in its description of Keith's actions in its video explanation of the play. As it should have been. Consider the initial description of what Keith did from the league's video: While on his back, Keith looks at Coyle, winds his arm back, then slashes dangerously and violently directly into the face of Coyle. It is important to note that Keith is in perfect control of his stick at all times. And this motion is made intentionally, not reckle sly. This is not a case where two players are battling for position or puck control, and a stick rides up suddenly. This is not a defensive high stick. It is also not a case in which a player who is off balance reckle sly swings his stick in an uncontrolled manner with an unexpected result. Keith is looking directly at his opponent, winds his arm back, and then whips it forward in a chopping motion aimed at Coyle's face. And, then perhaps the harshest line Babe Ruth Jersey came near the very end: This is an intentional retaliatory act of violence by a player with a history of using his stick as a weapon. You read those two descriptions, and especially the second one, and you might think you are reading about a player that was just suspended for 15 games. The league knows this is an unacceptable play. It knows the player responsible has done it before. It just didn't know what to do about it. High-sticking is not something that generally results in a suspension from the NHL. Since the department of player safety was formed before the 2011-12 season (mainly to combat hits to the head) this is only the fifth high-sticking incident that has warranted a suspension. Two of those suspensions belong to Keith. Four other high-sticking incidents over Preston Tucker Jersey that time resulted in fines. So, again, it's not something that the department of player safety typically addre ses. It's also not really typical to see a player so blatantly use his stick, in the words of the league, "as a weapon." The only other high-sticking penalty over that time that resulted in a suspension of at least five games was (at the time a member of the Vancouver Canucks) when he was given a five-game regular-season ban for high-sticking (then a member of the Edmonton Oilers) on a play that resulted in a broken jaw for Gagner. Keep in mind the descriptions quoted above, where the league drives home the point that Keith was in "complete control" of his stick, and that he looked directly at Coyle and intentionally used his stick to violently smack him in the face in a retaliatory manner. In the 2013 explanation of the Ka sian incident ( ), Brendan Shanahan, then the leader of the department of player safety, noted that in Ka sian's case he accepted the argument that the forward did not intend to hit Gagner in the face, and that it was a reckle s use of the stick and he needed to be held responsible for his actions and the consequences. In Keith's case, it was the exact opposite. It was specifically noted that he was in complete control of his stick and it was not simply a "reckle s" use of the stick. It was pointed out that he looked directly at his opponent and then violently swung his stick at his face. And where Ka sian had no suspension history in the league, Keith has not only been suspended two other times in his career, but one of those incidents was for a nearly identical play. When you add Mike Foltynewicz Jersey all of that together, it's amazing the result is only one additional game, whether that additional game is a playoff game or not. In the end here all signs pointed to this suspension just not being enough when the league finally handed out a ruling. Not only was Coyle not injured on the play beyond a cut (again, a significant factor in determining the length of suspensions, and something that certainly worked against Ka sian in his case and worked in Keith's favor), but this suspension is also going to carry over to the playoffs where the league seems to be more hesitant to hand out discipline because of the importance of the games. That probably explains why Keith only received a laughable one -game suspension for an equally dirty and dangerous high-sticking incident on in the 2013 Western Conference finals. That line of thinking, of course, is insane. The importance of the games should add to the punishment, not take away from it. The slap-on-the-wrist, one- and two-game suspensions that have become commonplace in the league these days for cheap shots and illegal hits do not serve as any kind of a deterrent from future hits. They do not send a me sage that there are real consequences for when a player blatantly cro ses the line. That is especially the case if you make allowances for playoff games. If a player knows he could potentially mi s an entire playoff series and perhaps cost his team a shot at the Stanley Cup, he might not be so inclined to do something stupid like hit an opponent in the face with his hockey stick. And if he still does it, then the team -- and the player -- would all get exactly what they deserve. The NHL had a chance to make a real statement on an obviously dirty play. It did not do Adam Duval Jersey that. The NHL took it easy on Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith. (USATSI)