If the 20-game suspension that the NHL handed out to Dennis Wideman for his brutal crosscheck on linesman Don Henderson showed us anything, it is that a rulebook actually exists.
We know this, because Wideman just had it thrown at him.
This was an example where the league got it right. It did not make excuses or factor in the player’s reputation or get lost in the grey areas of the game. It simply looked at the facts: a Calgary Flames defenceman used his stick to knock over an on-ice official and ruled it was unacceptable. Based on the suspension, you might add it was highly unacceptable.