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John Scott comes forward with shocking admission about his 2013 melee with Phil Kessel
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
Back in 2013, former NHL enforcer John Scott baited Toronto Maple Leafs star Phil Kessel into a 3-game suspension, and now we know why Scott was not suspended.
A career tough guy, Scott recently recounted his version of the Phil Kessel melee and Brendan Shanahan's surprising reaction to it all. According to Scott, Shanahan, who was running the NHL's Department of Player Safety at the time, wanted more than anything to slap him with a suspension, revealing why he couldn't.
Scott recently explained what happened on his "The Dropping The Gloves Podcast."
"How can I get suspended from this?" Scott wondered. "I knew Shanny (Brendan Shanahan) had it in for me and wanted to suspend me," he continued.
Scott was used to being painted as the bad guy, but what the current Maple Leafs' GM and former Head of NHL Player Safety said next was truly surprising.
"I get a call from Shanny right away after the game, and he starts listing off the suspensions," Scott explained.
"Shanahan said 'We're giving Phil (Kessel) 3 games, giving (David) Clarkson 10 games, and you're not getting anything. I looked and wanted to suspend you, but I can't because you didn't do anything wrong.'"
"Shanahan said 'We're giving Phil (Kessel) 3 games, giving (David) Clarkson 10 games, and you're not getting anything. I looked and wanted to suspend you, but I can't because you didn't do anything wrong.'"
Shanahan's comments, if true, shine a spotlight on the NHL's Department of Player Safety and how it operates. If the head of the department is actively looking for a reason to suspend a player, is it really in the nature of what the department is about, or has it crossed over into a tool to use in a petty vendetta?
We have seen current head of Player Safety, George Parros, act similarly, pushing for a suspension where perhaps one isn't warranted. We have also seen him taking it easy on guys and issuing fines where certain actions warrant a suspension.
Scott is not known for his skill in the NHL but is famous for his fighting prowess, accumulating 544 penalty minutes in 286 games. Scott is also known for captaining his All-Star team after fans voted him in back during the 2015-16 season. He was also named MVP of the event.
Source: HockeyDB
John Scott Statistics
John Scott Statistics
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 1 | 329 ANSWERS John Scott comes forward with shocking admission about his 2013 melee with Phil Kessel Was Phil Kessel underappreciated during his time in Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 224 | 68.1 % |
| No | 105 | 31.9 % |
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