His name is Oskar Sundqvist. You will likely get to hate him quickly if you don’t already.
Sundqvist landed a brutal and unnecessarily violent hit on Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in Game 2 of Wednesday's Stanley Cup Final. The hit resulted in Grzelcyk not only leaving the game, but visiting the hospital to be tested for a potential head injury shortly thereafter. After watching the hit multiple times both last night and this morning, a two-minute minor boarding penalty hardly seems appropriate. My guess and hope is that the league will review it and take action quickly.
The most important thing is the health of Grzelcyk of course and hopefully we get good news on his status soon. Everything else is secondary to that for sure.
On the ice, the Bruins suffered defensively in his absence playing with a shortened hand on the blue line for the remainder of the game. In the longer scheme of the series a true villain has now emerged.
That villain is Oskar Sundqvist.
His action last night merits suspension. His label as villain or thug is equally merited and he joins a cast of fiends from Bruins lore that is as long as the list of guest villains on the late 60’s television smash hit - Batman.
I think the late, great Adam West described it best when describing Catwoman.
The list of fiends landing dirty hits or playing the role of pest, rat, criminal or otherwise is a long one in the storied history of play against the Bruins. It’s the nature of the sport. Hockey is intense, fast, physical and sometimes violent. Throughout its great history, part of NHL hockey features the inclusion of its share of cheap shot artists and dirty players.
The role of villain when playing against the Bruins casts a very wide net that sometimes features the great scorers that drive us nuts like the elegant Guy Lafleur to the guys that should rather fill Cell Block E of the NHL penitentiary like Ulf Samuelson and Matt Cooke.
Sundqvist welcome to the latter…
Some of these miscreants came to mind really quickly like Samuelson who was and still is at the top of the Boston Bruins top 10 most wanted list. He took what could have been some of the best years away from the great Cam Neely. He could spend the rest of his life hand feeding homeless children in third world countries and it wouldn’t be nearly enough to gain even a morsel of forgiveness from me. His high speed train ride ticket to hockey hell has long since been booked.
Neely did get some long needed vengeance on the ice over Samuelson, but truth be told it wasn’t nearly enough. That one should have ended more like the games held in the Colosseum in 80 AD. Perhaps if after a prolonged beating by Neely, a starving lion was unleashed to devour his remains I’d feel more satisfied. Just thinking of it is elevating my heart beat.
It’s like Potter never getting his just due punishment in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” We’re left wanting more in this one and always will be. It’s been well over 20 years and I’m still seething. Hell awaits. Hopefully…
Chris Nilan: Though he returned home to the Bruins and is one of our own, his cheap shot on Rick Middleton was maybe the worst I ever saw. That one runs deep and always will. Though he wore the black and gold well while in Boston, my lasting memory of him on the ice isn’t a good one. Dawning the Montreal Canadiens bleu blanc et rouge with that constant instigating smirk of his was more than enough to get him on Bruins fans bad side during his era. Add in that violent cheap shot on Nifty and you are on the list for eternity Nilan -- like it or not.
Matt Cooke: Before I could get over Samuelson and Nilan (still haven’t) along comes Cooke. His hit on Marc Savard in March of 2010 was nasty. I hated Cooke and he is right on Samuelson’s heels on that Bruins fans most wanted List. The main difference between the two however is the result of a prolonged hockey life of frontier justice. Shawn Thornton took great pride in beating up Cooke for his misdeeds. Thank you Shawn for you valiant service to the fan base and region. You are forever honored. Chara got a few good shots on him, too. However it doesn’t end there.
Cook was a real scumbag and thus took a deserved tour of beatings across the NHL for years. Well-earned beatings I might add. If he wasn’t beaten to the maximum punishment in Boston, he got his across multiple stops throughout the US and Canada. I think everyone hated Cooke. At least they should have.
I could go on for days…
Here’s a few more to get your stomach turning, adrenaline pumping and ire up before Game three…
Weasels, rats and pests:
Claude Lemieux, PK Subban, Mike Foligno, Lindy Ruff, Pat Vrbeek, Esa Tikanen, Petr Klima
Old school thugs:
Shayne Corson, John Kordic, Tie Domi, Rob Ray
Older school thugs:
Clarke Gilles, Dave Schultz, Bobby Clarke.
Ready to vomit yet? Punch a wall? My advice is rather go to the gym or hit the heavy bag and oh yeah, gear up for Game 3.
Remember, there’s a new villain in Gotham City. His name is Oskar Sundqvist. Fiend that he is.