Eugene Melnyk didn’t hold back when asked about Sidney Crosby‘s slash on Marc Methot earlier this week, but the Pittsburgh Penguins captain was dismissive of the Ottawa Senators owner’s comments when asked about the remarks Sunday.
“I’m just going to leave it,” Crosby told reporters via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He likes to hear himself talk, so let’s leave it. It was four days ago.”
Crosby came under fire for his two-handed slash to the left hand of Methot on Thursday night that severed the tip of the defenceman’s pinky, an injury that required 10 stitches and will keep Methot out for some time. Crosby wasn’t penalized for the slash and didn’t receive any supplementary discipline from the league, a detail Melnyk vehemently disagreed with.
“We all know who he is and the guy is just a whiner beyond belief,” Melnyk told Ottawa’s TSN 1200 on Friday. “You do this kind of stuff — I don’t care who you are in the league, I don’t care if you’re the No. 1 player in the league — you should sit out a long time for this kind of crap. I really do.”
The play and Crosby’s punishment for it (or lack thereof) has become a topic of much debate throughout the hockey world, one both Don Cherry and the Hockey Night in Canada panel weighed in on Saturday night.
For his part, Crosby said Sunday he believes that type of play is something the NHL “should crack down on” and he hopes Methot is “back out there soon.”
The slash on Methot was just part of what was a busy week for No. 87, who drew the ire of many for a spear to the groin of Buffalo Sabres centre Ryan O’Reilly on Tuesday. Crosby also scored a jaw-dropping goal in that game and lost a couple of teeth after an Evander Kane high-stick.
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