ATLANTA — Ruslan Salei gained a lot of respect from his new Avalanche teammates Sunday night. It almost cost him an eye to get it.
As they say, that’s hockey. But did it have to come to that? We’ll skip the age-old debate over fighting’s place in the sport, and just say: While some may call Salei stupid for fighting the much bigger Steve Ott of Dallas and suffering an eye injury in the process, there is no debate among hockey people.
“If you’re a hockey player, that’s what you do,” said former Avs tough guy Jeff Odgers, a radio analyst with the Atlanta Thrashers. “He saw a teammate of his get run, and stood up for him right away. That’s going to be big for him in the Colorado dressing room when he gets back.”
Salei was lucky. The recently acquired defenseman did not suffer a broken orbital bone, as was first feared. Jordan Leopold was injured after Ott leaped to his feet and knocked Leopold’s head into the glass. Leopold missed Tuesday’s game against the Thrashers with possible concussion symptoms.
Ott had a hearing with the NHL on Tuesday over his hit, and the Avs believe he might be suspended, although nothing had been announced by Tuesday.
Salei could have left the fighting to Avs tough guys, such as Cody Mc-Leod, Ian Laperriere or Cody McCormick.
Odgers’ bent nose is proof of the many battles he fought for others.
“But Salei helped send the message right away. If you wait a few shifts and have those guys just spend the rest of the night running after Ott, what’s that going to do?” Odgers said. “I’m not saying every guy on the team has to fight whenever a teammate takes a big hit. Some guys, you don’t want them to fight, period. But everybody’s a hockey player out there, and they can generally fend for themselves, and Salei isn’t a tiny little guy. He’s a tough player.”
As it stands, the Avs think Salei will be back in the lineup Thursday night against Edmonton at the Pepsi Center. And if he takes a big hit, there will be 22 guys wearing an “A” on their sweaters who will want to do something about it.
