Dorsett takes jab at instigator rules
Winger scratching his head over bout with Ducks’ Manson, which Canucks contend was a ‘hockey play’
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Derek Dorsett knows it, but he can’t say it.
Without the pesky and pugnacious winger, the Vancouver Canucks were easier to play against last season.
His season was shut down in December by cervical fusion neck surgery and Erik Gudbranson was done the same month with a wrist procedure.
It turned into open season on the club’s skilled players. The slot and crease areas became free-fly zones for the opposition, goalies were treated like piñatas. It irked players and management.
Fast-forward and a happy and healthy Dorsett is in his element. But the very nature of his willingness to stick up to those who stick his teammates — or those attempting to impose their will on anybody — has Dorsett skating a fine line.
He has accumulated two instigator penalties and another will result in a two-game suspension.
And for a player who knows his role and reputation, he doesn’t understand Rule 46.21: “A player who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation for the third time in one regular season shall be suspended for the next two regular-season games of his team.”
It sounds simple enough, but determining who is the aggressor in a confrontation has Dorsett taking issue with how the rule is being interpreted by on-ice officials.
He received an instigator for fighting Josh Manson of the Anaheim Ducks after the defenceman took a run at Bo Horvat on Thursday. His first was against Mark Borowiecki of the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 17 on a similar play.
Rule 46.11 does cite certain factors. There’s the distance travelled, gloves off first, first punch, menacing attitude or posture or instigation and threats that could relate to retaliation for a previous incident. Some of it is obvious in distance travelled, gloves off and first punch, but some isn’t and open to interpretation. Dorsett is no angel. He plays like a pit bull and has plenty of bite. And it could be his reputation for pugnaciousness and being a major irritant — he had 17 bouts two seasons ago — that comes into play in those grey areas of assessment by officials.
“I don’t necessarily agree with either of the instigators I got,” said Dorsett.
“I’m still looking for clarification on what the rule is because I’ve been told by four different people what it is. In my opinion, the one in Ottawa, he (Borowiecki) takes a run … and is known as a guy who fights.
“I skate over and his gloves come off first. So, in my opinion, he’s a willing combatant to fight. They say it was the distanced I travelled.
“And I didn’t get an explanation on the other night (Thursday) because I squared off with the guy. I’ve always thought an instigator for you is when a guy is not a willing combatant, but I guess it depends on who’s making the call. I’d like some clarification on the rule. I’m a little confused. I guess I’ll read the rule book.”
That might not help because the rule is also open to some head scratching. And the biggest problem for Dorsett is to not change the way he plays and be too tentative.
He had seven goals in his first 16 games because he was effective on a forechecking formation with Brandon Sutter and Markus Granlund. He’s also part of the penalty kill and the fact he lost his coverage on two of three Anaheim power-play goals bugs him as much as that instigator call.
“I hope it doesn’t affect the way I play, but at the same time, I don’t want to miss two games and put the team in that position,” stressed Dorsett. “I guess that’s what I need to figure out.
“I’ve been in over 100 fights and ones where I’ve quick-started a guy and not got an instigator. And there have been ones where guys have skated across the ice to fight me and they don’t get instigator.”
There is an appeal process in place to have an instigator call rescinded and it has to be presented to the league’s operation department no later than 48 hours after the game’s completion. Canucks general manager Jim Benning forwarded an email Friday and is awaiting a ruling.
“I could see the (instigator) one in Ottawa because of the distance, but the one in Anaheim was a hockey play and a hockey fight,” said Benning.
Dorsett certainly agrees with possibly getting his Thursday instigator rescinded.
“To me that was clear cut — two guys drop the gloves and square up,” he said. “Nobody quick-started. I asked him to fight and he dropped his gloves and then I dropped mine. We stood there for two or three seconds and the fight ensued.
“In my view, that’s not an instigator.”