People have said a lot of things about Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, and now, we can add forensic enthusiast to the list.
Senators owner presents forensic evidence to NHL, according to reports
Eugene Melnyk’s followed through with his intention to forensically prove Matt Cooke injured Erik Karlsson. The Senators owner reportedly made a presentation to the NHL on Monday.
Phillip MacCallum
Melnyk apparently visited NHL Headquarters in New York City on Monday night to present evidence that former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke intentionally lacerated the Achilles' tendon of Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson last season. The news of this visit was originally broken by TSN insider Bob McKenzie, and was later confirmed by Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.
Melnyk’s intention to forensically investigate this situation has been known since last March, when he stated in a radio interview that Toronto forensic doctors were already researching the incident:
“Look, they’re fair, [the NHL is] very fair when it comes to that,” he continued. “They will listen to you, but, you know, you have to come back with professional evidence by doctors, forensic doctors that can do it, and it’s actually being done right in Toronto.”
The incident occurred last February when Cooke attempted to check Karlsson but lost his footing and came down with his skate blade on the back of Karlsson’s leg. By all indications, the incident appeared to be a freak occurrence devoid of premeditation. Despite this, Melnyk and some members of the Senators organization -- including Karlsson -- either insinuated or outright stated that Cooke intentionally tried to injure the Senators defenseman.
Senators finances
After some initial confusion, everybody kind of forgot about Melnyk's investigation as other issues with the Senators -- mainly their financial instability and the departure of captain Daniel Alfredsson -- occupied the general public's attention.
But now the investigation has reemerged and, well, it’s kind of weird.
Maybe I don’t fully understand what forensics are -- I don’t really watch CSI all that often -- but it’s puzzling how a group of people are going to uncover groundbreaking piece of evidence that clearly shows Cooke intentionally injured Karlsson. Having seen the video countless times, I never once thought that there was even the slightest chance that Cooke intentionally brought his foot down to cut Karlsson. How a forensic doctor could prove that is lost on me.
I just keep imagining Melnyk meeting with Gary Bettman and the following ensuing:
Melnyk: "Matt Cooke's finger prints were found on this pair of skates."
Bettman: "Yeah, probably from when he tied them."
Melnyk: "Exactly."
And then, the coup de grâce:
(Photo credit: Reddit via Imgur)
My god ... it all makes sense now.
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