Did Minnesota Wild take mascot violence too far?

Cartoon violence never really bothered me, but then my parents raised me with a steady diet of Tom & Jerry, which also explains why I think cats are basically idiots.

The Minnesota Wild held a skit during their game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, involving a collection of NHL mascots beating each other up. I didn’t think twice about it. First, because comic violence between giant plushies is something my six-year-old daughter guffaws at while watching; and second, because comic violence between giant plushies is relatively benign when you’re at a professional sporting event featuring real grown men trying to physically assault each other with fists and sticks.

Basically, the skit featured Nordy, the Wild mascot, and a birthday celebration with other mascots. So there was a cake, and Tommy Hawk, the Chicago Blackhawks’ mascot, pushed it in Nordy’s face. And then Nordy got his revenge by smacking Tommy Hawk with a bat over and over again, rather than the piñata he was holding. Because he was blindfolded! Fun!

But to each parent his or her own, and Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune felt the mascot sketch was deplorable, so he wrote about it:

That misdirected blow would have seemed harmless — and even funny — had things not taken a dark turn. With the public address announcer imploring Nordy to “keep swinging,” he did just that and fake-pummeled Tommy Hawk to the ice and delivered blow after blow — 10 to be exact.

Finally, Devils mascot NJ Devil stepped in and stopped the mock beating and with the help of another mascot dragged a seemingly unconscious — or perhaps dead — Tommy Hawk off the ice. Some in the crowd applauded the skit, while others merely watched in silence.

Said Kuc, in summation, while calling out the NHL and the Wild for promoting the skit on social media:

For a league trying to eradicate unnecessary violence on the ice and promote a family atmosphere, the image of a mascot raising a bat over his head and delivering repeated blows to a helpless individual — whether wearing a bird costume or not — can’t be ideal.

Kuc reported that the NHL had contacted the Wild about the skit, which is what it does when in-arena entertainment crossed a line for someone. Like when Terry Pegula didn’t appreciate the Florida Panthers making light of a deadly blizzard, for example.

Look, Kuc’s a good dude, even if this isn’t an opinion we agree with in pretty much any way. It’s like going to the circus and complaining that the clowns were too violent when there’s a guy whipping an elephant one ring over.

Hockey can be a rather interesting teaching tool for parents about teamwork and athleticism and repercussions for one’s actions. But like nearly every other form of entertainment, there are going to be idiotic moments of twisted entertainment that will require a brief explanation or a reminder not to mimic it. And that’s not on the Wild to police, because everyone has their own standards; rather, it’s on us to explain, whether it’s a giant Hawk being bludgeoned with a bat or a giant Tiger riding an ATV on ice.

We’ll update with the Wild’s statement when it arrives, but for now: Did the Wild go too far?

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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