St. Louis Blues David Perron Fine With Joe Thornton

In the second period of the St. Louis Blues 2-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks, Joe Thornton exited the penalty box and leveled David Perron with a shoulder check that took little effort. 

Perron was sprawled out on the ice and Thornton was escorted to the locker room with a 5 minute major penalty and a game misconduct. 

Perron says that he has no problem with Joe Thornton and has no problem with what happened.

"I asked the guys who hit me actually, because I didn't know who it was," Perron said after the game. "Obviously, Joe's not a dirty player."

Good for Perron for being a stand-up guy.  Perron, who is only 22 years, had documented episodes of immaturity during his first couple of seasons in the NHL. 

A statement like this, not blaming Thornton or implying that he did it intentionally, is sure sign that Perron has grown up.

Its this type of maturity displayed by Perron personally, and more importantly professionally on the ice, that is one of the key components of the Blues incredible start to the season. 

Meanwhile, even though the hit was likely not intentional, Thornton is facing a 2 game suspension from the league. 

"Yes I was," he told ESPN.com Friday night when asked if he was surprised to be suspended. "I didn't actually see the hit until this morning. I didn't intend to hurt or do anything bad to him. He kind of ran into me, to be honest with you. Last night and this morning I had about three dozen text messages from players around the league saying they can't believe I even got a penalty."

Could the NHL have a problem similar to the one of the NFL?  Are they trying to be too tough?
 
Thornton is not a dirty player and he wants everybody to know it. 
 
"So 11 games into the year and I get my first penalty, I was on pace to win the Lady Byng and all of sudden I get flagged for an illegal head check," Thornton told ESPN.com. "That's a little strange since I have no history with that. But it is what it is. You look at the new rule, I think they're still in limbo at the rule in itself and they're not quite sure maybe on how it should fly and I got caught in the middle of it."
 
The NHL should be careful with how far they take this new stance on hits to the head. 
 
Although, maybe it will be good for the league.  A little controversy does get you in the news. 

Related articles

• San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton suspended two games for hit (sports.espn.go.com)
• See it: Joe Thornton's high hit draws ejection (sportingnews.com)
• "Joe Thornton ejected for blindside hit on David Perron" and related posts (fromtherink.com)
• Sharks captain Joe Thornton given two-game suspension for head hit (thehockeynews.com)