Elliotte Freidman on Bob Hartley: 'He's not getting suspended, you have to think he'll be fined'

With all the buzz around the actions of Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella, Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley has been left in the shadows. Tortorella will have to either be suspended, fined or both for his altercation in front of the Flames dressing room and his part in Saturday's brawl.

The last brawl the NHL saw was a preseason game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres that ended with player suspensions and a hefty fine to now former Sabres head coach Ron Rolston. Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada explains the similarities.

He's not getting suspended. But, you have to think he'll be fined. 

In September, then-Sabres coach Ron Rolston was fined a reported $10,000 for "player selection and team conduct" issues. John Scott was sent on the ice after Corey Tropp was injured in a fight with Toronto's Jamie Devane. Scott immediately went after Phil Kessel and the predictable gong show ensued.

If Rolston was guilty of "player selection" for that, then Hartley certainly is, too. He put on an amazingly innocent performance in his post-game media scrum, but, like Tortorella, he knows he's in trouble with the league and is thinking, "Do I want them to fine me $20,000...or $50,000? I'll take the lower one, thanks." 

The excerpt from Friedman's article also mentions the amount Rolston was fined was never disclosed. If Hartley does end up getting fined, the amount won't likely be released. 

Friedman also mentioned if Tortorella was to send out an injured Henrik Sedin to start the game, he would have been criticized for that just as much. Tortorella didn't have much choice when it came to matching lines.

In some ways, he's in a no-win situation. He gets criticized for sending out his tough guys, but, if he sends out non-heavyweights, he probably gets ripped for serving them up to a beating.

You can read Friedman's full article here.