How the calmest Russian in the NHL turned into a beast and almost “guillotined” a Canadian
Hockey player Sergei Nemchinov has always been considered reasonable and even phlegmatic. But that didn’t stop him from getting one of the harshest suspensions in the NHL, when he, like a former hero, cut down Brian Benning with a stick for no reason.
Sword-hoarder
March 1994 New York Rangers on the road playing against Florida. By the middle of the third period of life, 1:2 goes away, and then it happens unexpectedly.
As the Rangers attacked, Sergei Nemchinov, who led the league in his third season and earned a reputation for being technical and level-headed, collided with Panthers defenseman Brian Benning. Duty, probable, episode. The attack continued – but Nemchinov himself did not think so. Grabbing the stick with both hands like a treasured sword, he slashed back at Benning’s head with it. The Canadian fell on the ice as if he had been cut down.
An inflammation incident on peripheral TV broadcasts. Only one of the two commentators managed to discover the case and “Wow” happened. And the camera immediately drove off after the puck.
The picture looked creepy. Benning lies on the ice holding his head. It took at least three minutes before he managed to get up and leave for a replacement. The judges were confused. They sent Nemchinov to the penalty box, writing out only two minutes …
Sentence
The subsequent episode was once again reviewed in a special NHL formation. It turned out that Nemchinov acted with unjustified cruelty: the series was episodic in a mess. The Russian will release eight matches.
“The disqualification of Nemchinov shocked us. With the outcome of the league – everything is okay. The shock was that it was Sergey, and not someone else, who delivered this blow, ”Rangers general manager Neil Smith said, suggesting that “defending Nemchinov in this situation is difficult.”
NHL Vice President Brian Burke, who announced the verdict, was laconic: “Note that Nemchinov deliberately wanted to identify a specific injury. He grabbed the stick with both hands and hit it right in the head. We cannot leave this box unattended – despite the fact that in the past Nemchinov was not bought on sale.
Sammchinov, in turn, apologies. At the same time, he noted that Benning first ran into him, and the impact club still did not lead to injury. The latter was true, but it didn’t sound very good. The defender of “Florida” only miraculously did not receive serious injuries – he was saved by a helmet. Benning finished the match, but later it turned out in the spirit that “Nemchinov’s act is a fierce trash” and “there is no excuse.”
Brought to the handle
The 1993/94 season, in which Nemchinov missed eight games, ended with a triumph for the Rangers. For Sergei, who by that time had come to the end of the second world championship, this was the first Stanley Cup in his career. He acquired the second with New Jersey in 2000 …
In 1993, Mike Keenan became the head coach of the Rangers, Iron Mike – as they called it a specialist in complex character and harsh methods of discipline. Nemchinov recalled that during the first selection, the coach put the players on a videotape with records of the return of championship baseball teams to their cities. In the video, crowds of citizens greeted the athletes as heroes. According to Nemchinov, all were discovered earlier that any place other than the first Keenan would be considered recognized.
“He was very persistent, never gave anyone concessions, did not forgive weaknesses. Set the highest goals. Sometimes those that at first glance seemed impossible. That period of performances at the Rangers by Keenan reminded me very much of the Soviet times, when silver was clearly considered a failure, ”Nemchinov recalled.
Nemchinov, possibly in the episode with Benning. More Sergey in the NHL disruptions do not pop up. And he spent 11 seasons overseas … Later, Nemchinov coached CSKA, worked in the first and youth teams of Russia. Now he works as a scout in New Jersey.
And Brian Benning, after a memorable episode, got into the NHL for another season and retired. But today in the league of his friends is 27-year-old Nashville guard Matt Benning.
Hooligans and drug addicts
Nemchinov’s suspension was one of the harshest penalties ever tested by Russian legionnaires in the NHL. Only Alexander Mogilny and Andrey Nazarov were ordered stricter for breaking the rules on the site.
Mogilny received a 10-match disqualification when he hit the referee’s glove in 1992. Two days before this episode, the Russian Buffalo forward was launched for the first time in the All-Star Game. And, according to the press, he “easily blew off the roof” from fame.
Well, Nazarov, who has the largest number of “frostbitten” hockey players in the history of the NHL, was suspended for 13 games in March 1997. Then our legionnaire “San José” will continue the fight when he was already held by three ships. And in the end, he hit all three of them … In 1998, Hockey News called Nazarov “the most hated player in the NHL.”
It is possible to name even longer disqualifications of Russians. They weren’t affected. In 2019, Vyacheslav Voinov, the defender of the Los Angeles Kings and the owner of two Stanley Cups, who is accused of beating his wife, was suspended for a whole season. And in the same year, the NHL punished Vegas striker Valentin Zykov for 20 games for violating anti-doping rules. According to rumors, he was caught on cocaine.
Author: Mikhail Bokov