The NHL is, in some respects, a strange league. 

Where other professional sports leagues go to great lengths to promote their most talented players, the NHL takes a different approach. When you consider their actions and their culture, hockey’s top league wants its best athletes to curb their talents and play more like the less-talented worker bees.

An example of this backward mentality came Friday night, when the Arizona Coyotes took on the Anaheim Ducks; the Ducks had the game in hand, leading the Coyotes 5-0 with 5:37 left in the third period, when Arizona forward Jay Beagle decided to assault Ducks youngster Troy Terry. And the Coyotes announce team decided to justify Beagle’s actions.

This is about an approach to the game that has hundreds, if not thousands, of proponents. This is about an unspoken policy that flies in the face of sportsmanship and proper marketing. This is about a culture that needs to change.

For one thing, if you agree with the NHL’s department of player safety and believe Beagle’s hyper-aggression does not warrant NHL supplemental discipline, when Leafs star center Auston Matthews (rightfully) deserved his two-game suspension for a recent cross-check that was far less damaging than Beagle’s assault, you are wrong. There is no justification for what Beagle did. It is outrageous Matthews gets punished, while Beagle gets off without a scratch.