The season is only a week old (on North American soil, anyway), and already the league is handing out suspensions to Leafs forward Ryan Hollweg and Blue Jackets center Mike Peca.

Hollweg had to sit out the first two games of the regular season because of past offenses for hitting from behind. He finally made his Leafs' debut on Monday afternoon against St. Louis and was ejected from the game after he hit Blues' rookie Alex Pietrangelo from behind and received yet another major penalty for boarding. Now, Hollweg faces another suspension that will be at least three games.

The Leafs acquired Hollweg to be a grinder and agitator after the loss of Darcy Tucker. He played that role well for the Rangers the past three seasons, getting fourth line minutes and effectively killing penalties. Hollweg, 25, can be a valuable role player but he has to stay on the ice.

Leafs' coach Ron Wilson questioned the call made against Hollweg but admitted that the Downey, California, native has to control his aggression at times. "Ryan’s a repeat offender. There’s a fine line between being aggressive and pulling back. We have to work with him to find that fine line.”

St. Louis defenseman, Jay McKee was frustrated by Hollweg's actions. "You think a guy would learn,” McKee said after Monday's game. "There’s a level of respect out there. I love when guys play hard, play tough. Jamal Mayers is a perfect example—he plays hard and honest, he pulls up if guys are turning their backs. But, obviously, Hollweg has a hard time turning up. I don’t know if he can’t turn left and right good enough. But somebody’s going to get hurt seriously. … I don’t want to be that guy. Nobody does."

The league is right to institute the automatic suspension. Hollweg is not the kind of player who intends to hurt anybody but the league has to protect the players on the ice from unnecessary injuries on plays that should not be part of the game. Unfortunately for Hollweg, he will likely miss the Leafs game at Madison Square Garden on Friday and will not be facing his former teammates. Unless he gets his act together, his stay in Toronto may not be very long or productive for him or the Leafs.

The league also handed out an "indefinite" suspension to Blue Jackets center Mike Peca after the veteran center grabbed an official by the arm during Friday night's game against the Dallas Stars. Peca's case is interesting. The only replay I have seen of the incident was taken by a fan from the stands in Dallas (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJf86cY_dQY). While the view of the incident is not clear because the perspective on the video is far away, Peca seems to have a point. He does not appear to have any intent of hurting or striking the official, he merely seems to be grabbing his arm to get his attention. Now, the league cannot allow players to make threatening contact with linesmen or referees. There is an automatic 10-game suspension for physical contact with an official. Peca deserves to be suspended because he did touch the referee, but 10 games for this particular incident appears to be very steep. A hearing is set for this week and we'll see if the league knocks down Peca's suspension from 10 games to three or five.

The tragic death of New York Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov shocked the hockey world yesterday. Cherepanov was full of potential on and off the ice. He was only 19-years-old and according to all accounts, was a warm and well-liked young man with immense hockey talent. At most, he was one year away from playing on Broadway had he remained healthy. His death reminds us that life is precious and you never know when your time is up. If a 19-year-old athlete can suddenly drop dead, it can happen to any of us. It certainly puts hockey in perspective. Our condolences and prayers go out to the Cherepanov family.

Many fans seem to have forgotten about Blues' center, Paul Kariya. He no longer plays with sniper Teemu Selanne and St. Louis hasn't been Stanley Cup contenders the past two seasons, but Kariya is still a very talented offensive player and he has gotten off to a very fast start. Heck, he's only 34-years-old. In three games, Kariya has one goal and six points and he has tallied multiple points in each game this season. Kariya made three beautiful passes against the Islanders last Saturday that most other people wouldn't have even attempted. If he's available in your hockey pool, Kariya would be a good pickup. If the Blues find a good finisher to team with Kariya, he could approach 85 points this season.

Finally, the Islanders' treatment of star goalie Rick DiPietro continues to raise questions. DiPietro hasn't played in a regular season game since March when he had a hip operation. DP also had arthroscopic knee surgery in June and was only able to play in one preseason game. The Islanders say that DP needs to rest a bit more before he is ready to start. But the Islanders have kept DiPietro on the active roster and let him serve as backup to Joey MacDonald.

The move just does not make sense. If DiPietro is not ready to start, why don't they shut him down and put him on the injured list until he is ready? What if MacDonald got hurt during a game? Then the Isles would be forced to play their franchise goalie before he is presumably ready. The club has not called up Yann Danis who has NHL experience and played well in the preseason. MacDonald struggled against the Sabres on Monday but was not removed from the game. In his defense, MacDonald received little or no support from his teammates but with DP on the bench, bringing in the backup was probably not even an option.

The Isles' moves regarding DP defy logic and the organization is not talking to the press. DiPietro is by far the Isles' best player and they need him for the long haul. Heck, he has 13 years left on his 15-year contract and the franchise is built around him. But either he is ready to play or he isn't. Regardless of the circumstances, the Islanders need DiPietro back if they are to have any chance to contend for a playoff berth this season.