Richard Riot - Hearing

Hearing

The game's on-ice officials, Richard, Laycoe, Montreal assistant general manager Ken Reardon, Boston general manager Lynn Patrick, Montreal coach Dick Irvin and NHL referee-in-chief Carl Voss attended the March 16 hearing. In his defense, Richard contended that he was dazed and thought Thompson was one of Boston's players. He did not deny punching or attacking Laycoe.

After the hearing, Campbell issued a 1200-word statement to the press:

... I have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the attack on Laycoe was not only deliberate but persisted in the face of all authority and that the referee acted with proper judgment in awarding a match penalty. I am also satisfied that Richard did not strike linesman Thompson as a result of a mistake or accident as suggested ... Assistance can also be obtained from an incident that occurred less than three months ago in which the pattern of conduct of Richard was almost identical, including his constant resort to the recovery of his stick to pursue his opponent, as well as flouting the authority of and striking officials. On the previous occasion he was fortunate that teammates and officials were more effective in preventing him from doing injury to anyone and the penalty was more lenient in consequence. At the time he was warned there must be no further incident ... The time for probation or leniency is past. Whether this type of conduct is the product of temperamental instability or willful defiance of the authority in the games does not matter. It is a type of conduct which cannot be tolerated by any player - star or otherwise. Richard will be suspended from all games both league and playoff for the balance of the current season.

The suspension – the longest that Campbell ever issued in his 31 years as league President – was considered by many in Montreal to be unjust and severe. No sooner had the judgment been handed out than the NHL office (then in Montreal) was deluged with hundreds of calls from enraged fans, many of whom made death threats against Campbell.

The general feeling around the league was that the punishment could have been more severe. Detroit Red Wings general manager Jack Adams commented that Campbell "could do no less" and "I thought he would be suspended until January 1 of next season." Red Wings forward Ted Lindsay, whom the league had disciplined for an incident in Toronto in which he attacked a Maple Leafs fan who had been threatening teammate Gordie Howe, opined that Richard was lucky not to get a life suspension. He stated, "in baseball, football or almost anything else that much would be almost automatic. I say they should have suspended him for life." Bruins president Walter A. Brown agreed with Adams, saying, "That's the least they could do", and Bruins player Fleming Mackell commented, "if they had thrown the book at Richard in 1947 when he cut Bill Ezinicki and Vic Lynn, it might have stopped him and made him an even greater hockey player because of it." Interest was high in the hockey world; the Detroit Free Press reported its switchboard was swamped with calls.