Maxim Lapierre has worn four different sweaters over the course of his NHL career, but that’s pretty much the only thing that’s changed in his game.
The notorious agitator, now averaging about 12 minute of ice time per night with the St. Louis Blues, is at the center of controversy once again for crossing the line on the ice. Lapierre was the reason for a scary scene in St. Louis on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks when he checked Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle from behind. Boyle went tumbling into the boards face-first and had to be taken off on a stretcher.
Boyle told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun that he’s “doing OK” after the hit and that he “hopes to be back soon.”
As you might expect, that’s doing nothing to make anyone in the Sharks’ dressing room feel any better. Joe Pavelski, who scored a power-play goal on the ensuing man-advantage following the Lapierre hit, was none-too-pleased with the hit.
“Things like that happen, especially when idiots are idiots,” he said, according to CSN Bay Area via ProHockeyTalk.com. “Dan’s a world-class defenseman, there’s straight numbers [from behind] — there’s guys in this league that will target that. It doesn’t matter. They just go. It sucks.”
That was nothing compared to what Sharks forward Logan Couture had to say about the entire ordeal. Couture pointed to Lapierre’s checkered past — which is full of questionable hits and dishonorable play — and wondered if someone like that should even be in the league.
“A player that probably shouldn’t even be in the league is taking out one of the best players in the world,” he said, also according to CSN Bay Area. “That guy’s got a history. After the first shift, he’s yelling us from their bench that he’s coming after us, and then he does that. I don’t even know. It’s pretty gutless. Then he turtles. Be a man if you hit like that. Don’t turtle and run behind the lineseman.”
Lapierre has been suspended once in his career, and that ban came for a play against the Sharks coincidentally. He was suspended four games for this hit on Scott Nichol.
