And here's me, reflecting on why it was stupid for the NHL not to temporarily force into the shadows (i.e. suspend, even if only for a game) the anti-hero who delivered a blindside hit that, while to the shoulder, was pretty obviously premeditated and indirectly caused injury to a head, whether it be empty or not... In this analogy, Gotham would be the NHL, the Joker would Tom Wilson, and Batman would be Ryan Reaves. However, and you can correct me if I'm wrong here, I'm quite certain that Batman left all the pandering and public appearances to Bruce Wayne and let his inconspicuous actions as a caped crusader speak for themselves. I promise you I fret not over Tom Wilson's bell being rung or his feelings being hurt. The image that Ryan Reaves presumably signed for profit is one that we, as hockey fans, have come to deserve at this point. It's just not the type of comeuppance the NHL needs to see proudly and publicly put up for auction while they are waging war on the unnecessary and dangerous hits that cause both concussions and all the awful, awful complications that come along with them. Much like the Joker did to Gotham, the NHL's resident reckless asshole who repeatedly plays with zero regard for the short and/or long term health of his peers merely gave a stupid face to a much larger problem. So while seeing that face get counterpunched felt long overdue, him being on the opposite end of a hit that was literally signed off on as "predatory" when the person who delivered it referred to himself as a "lion in the jungle" on multiple occasions is more of a fitting fate than any sort of quick fix. If you truly hate all that Tom Wilson stands for then you shouldn't be openly applauding the result of the type of play that could potentially cause him to die early, even if you are rooting for him to die alone. I think we can all appreciate the occasional act of vigilante justice, especially when it's levied on such an irredeemable idiot, but there's a reason why those that typically administer it do so in a mask. It's inherently a thankless job that's done anonymously, so - even though the kibosh was put on this with the quickness - the fact that Ryan Reaves spent even a few minutes autographing his dirty work like bruising someone's brain is some sort of sadistic art is proof that he did it for all the wrong reasons. Not so coincidentally, those wrong reasons characterize a mindset that the NHL is supposed to be discipling out of its sport.
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