It’s confirmed. Colin Campbell makes his own rules.

After action taken with the Flyers earlier this season, followed up with Chris Simon once again setting an NHL record for length of suspension, it seemed that maybe, just maybe, the NHL was serious about making the players respect each other on the ice. Duly noted was various actions taken against the Philadelphia Flyers including Steve Downie’s 20-gamer for catapulting himself into Dean McAmmond, Jesse Boulerice’s 25-gamer for his stick to the face of Ryan Kesler, Steve Ott’s 3-gamer for clocking Jordan Leopold in the head, and Mattias Ohlund’s 4-game for slashing and injuring Mikko Koivu.

We thought wrong.

So when the word came out that there would be no disciplinary action on Chris Pronger for a clear, deliberate stomp on Ryan Kesler’s calf, one has to wonder, where exactly the line is?

Severity or star power?

One has to wonder, after being suspended five times while playing with the Blues, and then twice more in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, how the league cannot reprimand a player with such a track record like they did with Chris Simon. The simply is not an answer for that.

Case in point as to why Colin Campbell is to blame for the lack of respect players have for each other: after Pronger’s flying elbow to Dean McAmmond in Game 3 of the 2007 Stanley Cup finals, Campbell blatantly that Pronger would not have been suspended if McAmmond was not hurt. So then, if that’s the criteria, why was Pronger suspended when he elbowed Tomas Holmstrom in the head just two weeks earlier. So not only did Campbell deviate from his statement, he did it for a repeat offender, and a repeat offender within the playoffs itself. It’s pretty hard to give someone with seven previous suspensions the benefit of the doubt.

So while everyone marvels at Colin Campbell’s ineptitude, that somehow Andrew Peters’ punch to Colton Orr was so much worse than this, one is left to wonder why so many people think ice hockey is a game for hooligans. You can’t blame them when players with a reputation for playing so dirty can get away with so much. Somehow, Georges Laraque’s elbow to Nathan Paetsch was far worse than Pronger’s stomp on Ryan Kesler

Hockey fans have to be asking themselves when these shenanigans will end. Aside from an entertaining product, all hockey fans want is for everyone to respect each other. If this continues will be only a matter of time before hockey once again makes national headlines because someone almost or is killed on the ice because someone had to get their shot in.