But none of that mattered Wednesday.

	McSORDID HISTORY
	Year	Reason	Games
	'99-00	High-sticking	season
	'93-94	Eye gouging	4
	'92-93	Cross-checking	1
	'90-91	Striking a player	3
	'87-88	Spearing	3

Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell came down hard on McSorley, suspending him for the rest of the season. The fact that everyone was watching this one had a lot to do with the punishment.

Before Wednesday, the consensus was the suspension would surpass the 21 games handed to Dale Hunter for his hit on Pierre Turgeon which knocked Turgeon out of the playoffs in 1994. That act received 21 games more for the timing of the incident than for its violence. Hunter injured a key player in a playoff series.

This was different, and that is why the number of games sends a strong message about stickwork in the NHL.

McSorley is a veteran on the last legs of a long career. He made his name as an enforcer, but most players seemed to respect him and like his personality. McSorley was prominent with the NHLPA, and he might best be remembered as the guy who passed Wayne Gretzky the puck when The Great One broke Gordie Howe's goal-scoring record.

But none of that made a lick of difference when dealing with gratuitous violence in a league already hurt by image problems. How ironic is it that, during the anniversary celebration of the greatest hockey game of the last generation -- the U.S. Miracle on Ice win over the Soviets -- the McSorley story got more attention this week. Not good.

Of course, this type of incident has occurred at the lower levels of hockey, and it has resulted in criminal charges and bans from leagues. McSorley didn't receive a "ban", but this likely will end his career.

So, a proud veteran who has won the Stanley Cup will best be remembered for two things: Having an illegal curve in the '93 finals that might have cost the Kings the Cup, and this ugly incident which could have critically injured another player. The fact that Brashear is going to be OK doesn't matter. No one can put a stick to someone's face and get away with it. Especially with the whole sporting world watching.

Johnson got off lightly
What happened Monday night in Vancouver was gruesome, not only for the violence of the act but also for it's delivery. Brashear had no chance to defend himself.

	MAJOR NHL SUSPENSIONS
	Player	GMS	Reason
	D. Hunter '93-94	21	Hit P. Turgeon from behind
	T. Lysiak '83-84	20	Abuse of linesman
	E. Shore '33-34	16	Hit Ace Bailey from behind
	T. Granato '93-94	15	Slashing Neil Wilkinson
	D. Brown '87-88	15	Cross-check on Tomas Sandstrom
	W. Paiement '78-79	15	Stick swinging incident

It was reminiscent of Matt Johnson's sucker punch of Jeff Beukeboom in November 1998. That incident hasn't come up much in the discussion of McSorley's incident, mainly because Johnson's 12-game suspension isn't even in the top five of longest NHL suspensions.

But, like Brashear, Beukeboom had no opportunity to defend himself. That punch ended his career. Complications from post-concussion syndrome made it impossible for him to compete at the NHL level. That's the disgusting part.

The climate has changed in the NHL, and if Johnson had done the same thing in 2000, he'd be staring at a fate equal to McSorley's.

Brian A. Shactman is the NHL Editor for ESPN.com.