Robin Lehner Should Remain in the NHL and so Should Marc Crawford

Having just read an article asking whether Robin Lehner should remain in the league because he admitted to being a bad person in the past, I feel forced to answer the question.  Yes, he should remain in the league, and so should Marc Crawford, Mike Babcock, and Bill Peters.  Here's why.

Making it to the NHL, and remaining in it, is a dream shared by so many and achieved by so few.  To be able to accomplish this feat requires, not only skill, but massive amounts of dedication and persistence to a craft.  Those that make it are irrefutably professionals.  Period.

When I tune in to watch NHL games, I do so because I enjoy the craft of hockey and wish to see the very best of those that have mastered it.  All four of the names mentioned above did something that only the best in their craft could have done, and deserve respect for that.  You don't get there by doing more wrong things than right.  In fact, you must do countless right things to get there without making missteps.  Does that mean missteps never occur?  Of course not.

But does that mean we should implement a disciplinary module of one strike you're out?  If we had exercised this notion in the past, would we have ever seen Todd Bertuzzi play again?  Would he have been able to pay off his debt to Steve Moore?  Or are you going to tell me that kicking a player in the back, on the bench, is worse than ruining a man's health and career?

Everyone makes mistakes, and when those mistakes are incredibly harmful to another person, that person should have to face discipline.  But, do you really want to see banishment become the staple punishment?  How would that be good for the league?

Robin Lehner believes everyone needs a second chance.  Not deserves.  Needs.  I'm with him.