Oh great, now they’ve done it. Why can’t we ever have an NHL season during which the “unwritten rules” of the sport don’t dominate headlines for days?

Unless you were living under a rock this past weekend, you’ve almost assuredly heard about how Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs went all vigilante justice on Ridly Greig of the Ottawa Senators. 

To quickly recap, “The Battle of Ontario” was just about to close out another feisty chapter when things took a hard left turn. Toronto’s net was empty as the Maple Leafs attempted to tie the game. However, Ridly Greig had other ideas. Greig took the puck on a breakaway and flew towards Toronto’s net, ready to put the nail in the Maple Leafs’ coffin. 

Sounds very paint-by-the-numbers, right? Well…

Instead of just guiding the puck into the net, or lightly shooting into the empty goal, Greig wound up and blasted a full force slap-shot to give the Senators a 5-3 lead. Morgan Rielly, who was the closest Leafs player in proximity to Greig, took exception to this and immediately charged into action. However, instead of simply challenging Greig to drop the gloves, Rielly viciously cross-checked Greig in the head/neck area and a melee ensued. 

After the fracas was cleared and the clock officially expired, the chirping between the teams – through the media – began. And then it snowballed. Players and coaches across The League have weighed in. Former players, coaches, and executives have chimed in with their two cents. 

There isn’t a corner of the Hockey World that hasn’t had an opinion to give. So, let’s examine the arguments rationally and see if we can find some common ground.

Editor’s Note: To heck with rational manner. Let’s drop the gloves and give ‘em a fight the fans won’t soon forget. 

(See, I told you everybody had an opinion to give).

WHY GREIG WAS WRONG

Look, I get it. Games can get testy. It’s simply the nature of the game of hockey. The players are only human after all and sometimes they let their emotions boil over, which can cause them to act differently than they normally would. 

But that’s not an excuse for what Ridly Greig did. Yes, he is the victim in this situation, but he’s not without fault. 

There was no justifiable reason for Greig to wind up and let loose a full blast slap-shot for the empty-net goal. It’s just poor sportsmanship. An equivalent would be a baseball player hitting a home run in the 9th inning with his team already ahead and then pimping around the bases. 

Act like you’ve been there before dammit! 

Whatever events transpired during the game, the Senators had the last laugh. They won. They got the all important two points. If you insist on “making a statement” as Ridly surely felt was needed, then wait until the next time the two teams square off, be a man, and challenge an opposing player to a clean fight – even if that means waiting until next season. That’s the way it’s done in hockey. 

Winding up for an empty-net slap-shot was the wrong thing to do, case closed. 

WHY RIELLY WAS WRONG

Okay, your team was just about to lose an important game and an opposing player essentially flipped you the middle finger (without actually doing so). Yes, action was needed. But not like that.

Do you know what it’s called when you cross-check somebody in the head/neck area when you’re not on the ice? It’s called Felony Assault. Now, I’m not saying Morgan Rielly should be arrested and thrown in jail for what he did, but he’s gotta be smarter than that. 

After seeing his team get “disrespected,” Rielly should have simply gone over to Ridly and challenged him to drop the gloves in a clean fight. Failing to do that, he could have waited until the next time the two teams meet (sometime during the 2024-25 season) and challenged one of the Senators to a fight then. 

Instead, he chose to clock an unsuspecting Ridly in the head/neck area with a “dangerous object” – his hockey stick. 

A suspension is coming and it’ll be well deserved.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

Ridly broke “The Code.”

No, Rielly broke “The Code.” 

That’s the argument the Hockey World is having. 

Sheldon Keefe and John Tavares stood up for Rielly’s actions (shocker). Ryan Reaves put on his “tough guy” act and implied Ridly would have gotten knocked out cold “back in the day,” even though Reaves didn’t enter the NHL until that “Era” was over. 

On the other hand, many keyboard warriors over on X – formerly known as Twitter – insisted Rielly should be suspended for the rest of the season. 

 So, which is it? Who broke “The Code?” And why have we still not found a written copy of this “code” after how much it gets discussed every damn season?

VERDICT

Both players broke “The Code.” If you think that’s a cop-out answer then you haven’t been paying attention. 

Ridly clearly committed an unsportsmanlike act. So he broke the “Good Sportsman Code.”

Rielly, essentially, committed a crime; lucky for him it took place during an NHL game. He broke the Player Safety “Code.” NHL Players are part of a select “Fraternity.” And even though they play on separate teams, they’re still “brothers” and going out of your way to attempt to intentionally injure your “brother” is against “The Code.”

Luckily, Ridly didn’t seem to suffer any lasting injuries. Had there been more time left on the clock, he should have been given a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

Rielly is set to have an in-person hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety; meaning he could be looking at a suspension of six or more games. 

My guess is he’ll get six on the dot, then he’ll appeal and it’ll get reduced to five.

Perhaps somebody should start writing all these “codes” down so we can stop having these debates year after year. Any volunteers?