Rick Rypien Suspended Six Games For Grabbing Minnesota Fan

NHL Suspends Rick Rypien Six Games For Grabbing Fan

The NHL has suspended Rick Rypien of the Vancouver Canucks six games for grabbing James Engquist, a Minnesota Wild fan, at a game at Xcel Energy Center this week.

From the League:

Including the game already served while Friday’s hearing was pending, Rypien will be eligible to return to play Nov. 6 against Detroit. The Canucks also were fined $25,000, as required by League policy.

"Prior to each season, all clubs and players are advised that under no circumstances are club personnel permitted to have physical contact with fans, or enter, or attempt to enter the stands," Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We hold NHL players to a high standard, and there simply is no excuse for conduct of this nature. Fortunately, this incident is not typical of the way NHL players conduct themselves and is not typical of the way Mr. Rypien had conducted himself during his career."

For more, visit Nucks Misconduct and Hockey Wilderness.

Will The Wild Use Rick Rypien As A Rallying Point?

The Wild have had trouble adapting to Todd Richards' system for a year now, and to say that they've been splintered is an understatement. The Copper & Blue says the Canucks handed the Wild a rally point, something that the entire team is going to get behind:

Richards may not have an inspirational giant in his sport to call on, but Rick Rypien may have done him an enormous favor. The Wild have been in need of a reason to rally around something, a reason to focus the team on Richards' system, even if it's lacking. They've needed a "win one for the Gipper" moment for about a year, and Rypien just handed the entire organization that moment.

VIDEO: Rypien Fan Discusses Incident In TV Interview

James Engquist has certainly had a busy few days. After being "assulated" (to use his own word) by Rick Rypien at the Minnesota Wild game the other night, he's given two interviews to local media: one to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and this one to KSTP television in St. Paul.

(H/T: Hockey Wilderness)

Where Minnesota Law Stands Regarding Rick Rypien Incident

While he may not be a lawyer, Bryan Reynolds at our Wild blog, Hockey Wilderness, can read. He opened up the books today and brushed up on Minnesota law to see where things stand in regard to this incident between Rick Rypien and a fan.

A conviction brings the threat of 90 days in jail and / or $1000 fine.

Again, I am not a lawyer, and I am not about to interpret the law. However, it seems that Rypien certainly had intent to cause fear, no? I certainly hope is does not go as far as criminal charges, but the law says it could.

As for the civil side, it becomes battery, and then the law gets mush less cut and dry. It becomes a matter for a judge or jury to determine if the case has merit. In a world in which you can sue McDonald's for having hot coffee, and Ryobi for making table saws that cut fingers off, I could certainly see a less scrupulous lawyer taking the case.

For more, visit Hockey Wilderness.

Canucks Fans Balance Fandom, Reality In Rypien Incident

Does Rick Rypien deserve the suspension? Absolutely. There is no defense for this incredibly stupid and selfish act. So what am I saying when I mention it makes me a little sad? I feel bad that a guy who has been through a lot of personal issues, ones that the team stood by him through, appears to have thrown away his career.

Rypien is a skilled fighter, has decent hands and has always been one of the hardest working guys on the team. It sucks to think that one mistake is gonna see his days with the Canucks come to a close.

Read more at Nucks Misconduct.

Minnesota Fan In Rypien Incident Will Seek Lawyer, Says He Was 'Assaulted'

The Minnesota Wild fan who was grabbed by Vancouver's Rick Rypien on Tuesday night says he will be getting a lawyer. James Engquist, 28, told Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune today that he was assaulted by Rypien and that legal representation is in his future.

From Russo:

Engquist attended the Wild-Vancouver game with his brother, Peter, getting seats directly behind the visitors' bench as a gift from their father: "I was just standing straight up applauding as he was getting kicked out. He was out of control. And then I said, 'Way to be professional,' and he obviously didn’t care for that comment and decided to grab me and almost dragged me over the rail. If my brother wasn’t grabbing me and the other player wasn't grabbing him, he probably would have dragged me over the edge."

Perhaps the most damning account of Engquist's testimony to Russo this afternoon surrounds the allegation that the NHL didn't contact him at all in the aftermath. Not a phone call from either team, from Rypien or from the league, he says. That seems like quite the PR blunder, should Engquist be telling the truth.

For more on this story, visit Nucks Misconduct, Hockey Wilderness and SB Nation Minnesota.

NHL Suspends Rick Rypien At Least Five Games

The NHL announced today that Rick Rypien of the Vancouver Canucks will be suspended, pending a hearing, following his altercation with a fan in Minnesota on Tuesday night.

TORONTO (October 20, 2010) -- Vancouver Canucks forward Rick Rypien has been suspended, pending a hearing, as a result of becoming involved in an altercation with a fan during NHL Game #76 last night in Minnesota. The incident took place at 13:38 of the second period. The League will have no comment until the matter has been resolved.

Usually, these suspension talks are held over the phone, but this time, the NHL is calling Rypien all the way to the principal's office in New York. An in-person hearing means that the suspension will be longer than five games, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

Most fans expect the suspension to be much, much longer than that.

The Canucks Embarrassing Reaction To Rick Rypien's Fan Altercation

Mike Chen at From The Rink chimed in on the reaction of the other Canucks players, namely Manny Malhotra, to the Rick Rypien incident on Tuesday night.

You can see Manny Malhotra's got his back turned when the incident starts, then he turns around and winds up yelling at the fans. In fact, at 16 seconds of the video, you can see that pretty much all of the Canucks are facing the other way except Henrik Sedin. Sedin, by the way, glances up at the incident and walks away while the rest of the bench freaks out.

Once Rypien is escorted away, everyone should know better to let the arena staff handle it. Unless the guy jumps down into the runway or dumps a hot dog on the bench, that separation is there. Obviously, emotions ran high but really, it's the same old thing we've all heard since childhood -- sticks and stones etc. Except these are professional athletes that aren't supposed to let that stuff get to them.

That's why it's kind of embarrassing to see Kevin Bieksa whack his stick at the glass (and I don't think he's pointing out the guys to the usher, as the usher's already halfway there). At that point, pro athletes are supposed to let other professionals do their thing and take care of stuff in the stands. This applies to coaches and the equipment guys too, including the Canucks equipment guy in the red coat who started yelling back at the fans once Rypien left.

I'm sure a number of Canucks feel pretty dumb about how they reacted and lost their cool, and I'm sure Rypien realizes that he crossed a line that he never should have. At this point, the NHL will probably strike down pretty harshly. And you know much of the NHLPA will roll their eyes because they know this will lead to a "fan sensitivity" lecture and/or video.

Read more at From The Rink.

Why The Book Should Be Thrown At Rick Rypien

There is only one person, one factor, one anything to blame here. Rick Rypien. Completely unacceptable behavior from a player who had lost control of himself. Not that there is any evidence of this, but play this out in a chance encounter in the real world. A guy gets thrown out of a bar, and another guy heckles him on the way out. The guy being tossed attacks the heckler. What now? You going to tell him to leave the bar for three days?

Once again, there is a wide spectrum of opinions on this. The problem is, no one seems to be focused on the one thing that matters the most. He grabbed a fan. A FAN. This is so wrong on so many levels that a five to ten game suspension just does not match the crime.

So many people claiming "over reaction." Sometimes there needs to be over reaction. Sometimes there are cases where drastic action needs to be taken before something terrible happens. The head shot rules needed to be in place before Marc Savard and others had their careers put in jeopardy. This is a chance, not for over reaction, but for the NHL to make it clear that this is unacceptable before it turns into a Ron Artest moment.

Read much more at Hockey Wilderness.

Rick Rypien's Fan Appreciation Night

Anyone expecting Vancouver Canucks fans to stick up for Rick Rypien might have to wait awhile.  The boys over at Nucks Misconduct pin this one on Rypien:

The replay showed the fan did nothing wrong. He mock-clapped and probably mouthed off, the same thing thousands of others do on a nightly basis in any arena.

It's not going to be easy for Rypien to find support in this incident.  There was no physical contact, the fan didn't throw anything at him, Rypien wasn't in physical danger.  He simply snapped, nothing more, and made a terrible decision.  That decision may cost him his season.

Rick Rypien Assaults Fan In Minnesota

Fighters are known for their brawn, not their brains, and tonight at the XCel Center in Minnesota Rick Rypien made reinforced the old axiom.  Vancouver was trailing Minnesota 5-1 in the second period when Rypien tried to "energize his team" as the announcers say, and picked a fight with Brad Staubitz.  Nathan Eide from Hockey Wilderness explains the rest:

...after being pulled off of Brad Staubitz in a pathetic attempt to motivate the Vancouver Canucks, tussled with linesman Don Henderson, initiating contact, then jumping at a fan in the stands who was sarcastically clapping at him.

Video of the incident courtesy of Nathan at Hockey Wilderness:

It looks as if though Rypien engaged with a minor, or possibly a slightly-built person, but reports are that it was a minor and the family was moved to a suite in the building.

Rypien was given a misconduct, not a game misconduct, even with the referee contact.  It's all but assured that Rypien will be forced to go before Colin Campbell before the end of the week, and Twitter and message boards are already speculating as to Rypien's punishment.  Comparisons to Ron Artest's 73-game suspension for starting a brawl in the stands in Detroit have been made and Canucks fans are split between applauding Rypien's actions and wondering if he'll even be allowed on the plane back to Vancouver.