NHL Playoffs 2012: Andrew Shaw Victim of Poor Timing

The exact reason as to why Chicago Blackhawk Andrew Shaw was suspended may be coming to light.

According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, Shaw was suspended to serve as an example to the rest of the league after the NHL received criticism for not penalizing Nashville's Shea Weber after his blatant head slam on Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg.

If this information is true, it clearly shows a lack of leadership and consistency among the head offices of the NHL.

The thought process that Brendan Shanahan and the NHL have when giving out suspensions is clearly biased in terms of who deserves to be suspended.

Let's take a look at the facts in both Shaw's hit and Weber's head slam.

Andrew Shaw went behind the net to retrieve the puck while Coyotes' goaltender Mike Smith was behind the net playing it. Shaw made a move at the last second to get out of the way while Smith clearly had his head down playing the puck. 

The hit itself deserved a penalty, but it did not deserve a three-game suspension. Shaw had no intent to injure Smith; Smith was able to finish the game and is expected to play in Game 4.

Shea Weber went hard into the boards to hit Henrik Zetterberg, the initial hit was fine. But after, Weber took the back of Zetterberg's head and slammed it into the boards. A clear intent to injure, though Zetterberg hasn't missed any time.

So why was Shaw suspended and Weber only given a slap on the wrist?

Shaw is a third-line rookie centerman who has yet to become a household name for NHL fans. Weber is a superstar defenseman known around the league and can clearly change the outcome of the Detroit vs. Nashville series.

Shanahan and the NHL are clearly biased in favoring lighter penalties on superstar players and dishing out harsher discipline on lesser-known players.

This philosophy is what leads to the inconsistency in player discipline that is being seen during the playoffs.

Shaw was the victim of poor timing; if Weber never hit Zetterberg the way that he did would Shaw's penalty have been as severe? 

Probably not.

Shaw is being used as an example and Blackhawks fans everywhere have a very good reason to be angry right now.

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