The NHL got it so wrong in suspending Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader two games for his hit on Anaheim's Toni Lydman.

Then again, this is a professional sports league that usually gets it wrong on everything it does out of the league office in New York.

Abdelkader’s hit in Saturday night's Game 3 against the Ducks was no more than a four-minute penalty. Not one official blew his whistle on impact. Abdelkader was given a charging major and a game misconduct.

This suspension is typical garbage from the sewers below the NHL headquarters. It seemed to me like the Ducks’ Corey Perry tried to cut Jimmy Howard with his skate, yet Perry plays on.

The Ducks are cheapshot artists who zero in on Red Wings players along the boards, and they go unpunished. Meanwhile, the NHL office sits back and enjoys the view on its NHL network.

By the way, the NHL network is garbage. What the NFL and MLB have done with their networks makes NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s vision look like old school, black-and-white television.

The quacks from Southern California are getting some help here from the league office. My conspiracy side says the league would love a team such as the Ducks, from the second-largest media market in America, to have a deep run in the playoffs.

The NHL's mindless cronies loved watching the Los Angeles Kings win it last year. The Red Wings — like most teams from Detroit — get no national media love or attention from the NHL. Bettman is hooked on the big markets. He thinks his sport should be on the same level as the NFL and Major League Baseball in the U.S. He is so wrong.

NHL could do better

Beyond the few hockey diehards — and bandwagon fans in the playoffs interested in the Red Wings — ask yourself, what does the NHL do to draw you in? They have no clue how to market the sport in America. Name five stars in the league not in Detroit?

The Red Wings know how to market and run a franchise better than the NHL can run their own business. If it weren’t for the Red Wings, I couldn’t care less for the league.

Bettman is by far the worst leader of a sports league to ever walk this earth. He let the league expand when it it was stupid to expand. The NHL has a blind arrogance from the league office that makes you think they have no idea what they’re doing.

If Canada didn’t like hockey, the NHL would be out of business. Please don’t tell me about the number of minor-league teams and people who play hockey. I love minor-league hockey and those who play, but if there weren’t cheap tickets, cheap beer or cheap hot dogs, there would be no minor-league hockey. It’s entertainment and player development.

By the way, hockey players have been my favorite athletes to interview over the years. They are real, honest and down to earth, for the most part. What I have found is that those who play the sport, live it.

Red Wings a model franchise

I fell in love with the NHL after watching a game in person 15 years ago. The speed of the sport live is addicting. The NHL has never had a clue how to bring hockey into mainstream American conversations. I put that all on Bettman.

I love the Red Wings. From the owners on down, they do everything the right way. The NHL should call Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch and general manager Ken Holland and ask them how to market hockey and create a loyal fan base.

The NHL also should say it blew the call on Abdelkader and shouldn’t have suspended him.

— Bill Simonson is host of "The Huge Show," a radio sports talk show broadcast statewide.