Patrice Cormier Appeals QMJHL Suspension

One day after the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced a stiff punishment, Patrice Cormier decided it was too stiff.

Suspended for the rest of the season and the QMJHL playoffs for a vicious elbow on an opponent last week, Cormier announced Tuesday he would appeal the ban in hopes of having a chance to return to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies this season.

Cormier's coach with the Huskies, Andre Tourigny, told the media at a press conference that a ban of up to 48 games, including the postseason, was too excessive.

Declining to answer questions, Cormier instead read a statement on the phone.

"I respect the decision of the QMJHL even if I find it too severe. I deeply regret the circumstances surrounding this event and I wish Mikael Tam a speedy and full recovery. Thanks for your attention."

Cormier certainly is acting within his rights, and the Huskies are within their rights to support their player. However, this appeal is full of large holes.

For starters, would the Huskies, a first-place team likely to make the QMJHL playoffs and contend for a spot in the Memorial Cup, be willing to appeal this ban if it were a fringe player involved, instead of a well-known prospect like Cormier?

More importantly, does Cormier understand the way he is perceived by many in the hockey world? Whether you think he has a history of cheapshots or not, it's hard to look past his actions and words since the hit on Mikael Tam. While Tam was laid up in a hospital and later at home, unsure if he'll ever play hockey again, Cormier callously defended his hit as a "reflex" and is now appealing the suspension levied for his illegal, dangerous actions.

Wishing Tam a "speedy and full recovery" is nice, but Cormier's continued refusal to sit down and answer questions about the incident will not sit well with the QMJHL. No matter what he tries to say to diffuse the situation, Cormier is going to be forced to answer tough questions if he is to have a prayer of getting his suspension reduced.

Given his actions, there aren't enough words Cormier can say to make things right, especially the longer he walks down this "No questions, please" path.

As Pierre LeBrun points out, many in hockey want a message sent that hits like this simply can't be tolerated. One of those is Los Angeles Kings coach Terry Murray, who has a long and respected career in the sport.

"I did see the hit, I think there has to be a message sent," Murray said. "It's important that the vicious hits get cleaned up in the game of hockey. To me, [the suspension is] fair. I don't like to see young guys get penalized too severely, but in the situations I'm seeing in the game today, I believe it's really important for the people in charge to send the right message to the game of hockey. It's not going take away his livelihood. It's for the rest of this year. It's a big lesson learned, and hopefully, it gets sent to the rest of the hockey world right away and we start getting away from those attempt-to-injure kind of hits."

Cormier has a long, uphill fight if he is to show his hit deserves a lesser punishment than what was levied by the QMJHL.