There are no words to accurately describe the disgust FOF has for Colin Campbell, the NHL's Vice President of Operations. This is uniquely personal
for Ranger fans, whereas most other matters are in the spirit of competitive sports.

Colin Campbell so far has escaped the New York radar, and we want to remedy that egregious mistake. He certainly deserves more vitriol and anger from New York Ranger fans than current whipping boy Ron Low, who at least puts in an honest effort.

New York City set the guy up financially for life!

New York gave Colin Campbell the life and financial comfort he currently enjoys. We gave him an assistant coaching job during one of the NHL's
highest media profile events in a decade, during New York's '94 Cup run.Then, he lucked into the head coaching job when Mike Keenan abandoned ship and Neil Smith wanted to keep continuity.

He was an awful head coach, burying talents like Alexei Kovalev under scapegoat tactics. Yet a miraculous run by Wayne Gretzky in the playoffs
encouraged Neil Smith to give Campbell a long-term contract extension. When he continued to pull the team down, Campbell was fired with millions in his pocket.

But wait, there's more! Due in totality to his tenure in New York, he was given the job of Vice President of Hockey Operations at the NHL, replacing
departing Brian Burke.

ALL of this was given to him by New York and the Rangers. Or does anyone believe he would be sitting with a fat bank account in the league office if
he had been an assistant coach in Calgary in 1994?

His New York Vendetta

It is natural for a fan to believe officials are secretly against their team. But in this case, facts support the argument that Colin Campbell is
aggressively punishing the Rangers. And what makes it so absurd,so disturbing,and so infuriating, is that this callous individual has the
audacity to feel wronged by New York after reaping his rewards.

Don't believe me? Read on...

The Suspensions

Early in the season, in case anyone needs a refresher course, Colin Campbell handed out seven (7) game suspensions to both Igor Ulanov and Dale Purinton. Seven games!! The severity of the punishment was astronomical as there were no injuries on either play.

Now compare this to other suspensions as the season progressed:

Bryan Marchment: Flying elbow to Shane Willis that causes a concussion? Six games.

Vaclav Varada: Butt-end of stick into Lindros' eye area? No suspension.

Rob Ray: Recent vicious elbow to the head of Bryce Salvador, causing a concussion? Five games.

Joe Thornton: Cross check to the face of Rod Brind'Amour? Two games.

I could go on, but you get the point, and FOF defies anyone to put forward an argument that supports the rulings. Repeat offender status? Resulting injury? Stick to the head? Sorry, none of them bring a point of distinction that supports the severity of the Rangers punishment.

And for good measure, I'd add the relatively harmless punch Dale Purinton threw at Jason Blake recently. For that, Dale received a three game
suspension. Compare that to numerous situations throughout the year that went unpunished.

The Attention

After Purinton's first suspension, Campbell admittedly pushed Dale to tone down his aggressive play. The gist of it was that he could be making $1.5
million per year if he would simply calm his game down.

Excuse me, Colin? Dale Purinton has never ended an NHL player's career or caused serious injury to an opponent. So how about taking that aggresive
stance with Bryan Marchment, who has taken out numerous knees and skulls for years. Nope, his suspension was six games. Remember when Derian Hatcher attempted a vicious elbow at Lindros' head early in the season? No Campbell warning on that play, either.

So why on earth focus on taming little-used Ranger defenseman Dale Purinton? That is the job of the Rangers management team, not Campbell. It is not his place to determine what type of player the Rangers should employ. But yet his two excessive suspensions and statements to Dale Purinton reeked of a need to show authority over his former team. Absurd.

And Theo Fleury...

Earlier in the year, soon after the chicken flap incident, Fleury remarked to the media that he was going to place a call in to Campbell to talk about his perception that other players could target him without fear of a penalty. He never did make the phone call, but that didn't stop Campbell from responding.

To summarize, Campbell ranted to the press, saying that he was tired of Theo's whining, that he was hurting his teammates with his antics, and other
such remarks. Highly inappropriate considering that Theo never did call Campbell to discuss his concern, and it is unprecedented that a league
executive would comment on a player and his value being a detriment to the team.

Has Campbell done this with anyone else? No. All other comments from Campbell are in official memo form, where "Mr. Campbell has deemed this act to be intentional..." Why the intense and exclusive interest in punishing
Rangers and putting them in "their place?"

The Results to the 2001-2002 New York Rangers

There are no excuses for the Rangers, and this is not a scapegoat rant. The Rangers deserve their fate because of poor coaching and poor leadership.

But Campbell's actions have played a part. He actively tried to tone down the Rangers' aggressive play, to the point where it became a season
distraction, especially with Theo Fleury. And there is no reason to believe his bias will cede next season.

An Integrity Issue

FOF believes the NHL has an integrity issue, and it starts and ends with Colin Campbell. He is a spiteful, bitter and callous individual who has the
gall to spit on the city that gave him everything he currently enjoys.

It's time for New York Ranger fans to take notice. Write letters. Solicit the media. Put a spotlight on this wolf in executive clothing. Unlike other
targets of frustration, who are simply good men put in bad situations, Colin Campbell deserves your scorn.

-Gabe

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