On Saturday night, in his fourth NHL game, Downie punched Blake in the left eye as Blake and Downie were being held by officials during a scuffle. Blake's eye swelled shut but there was no structural damage. Downie was ejected and issued a warning - but not suspended - by league disciplinarian Colin Campbell.
"Blake was a guy who had no problem going out and saying he should be suspended for life or suspended for the year," Clarke said. "When you say something that stupid, why shouldn't this kid go after him for it?
"The kid did what every hockey player should do. If a player like Blake, who's been around as long as he has, wants to criticize a player, then he has to go on the ice with him and suffer the consequences."
Blake said there was "no place" for those hits.
"You don't want injuries that will keep you out for the whole season," he told the Toronto Globe and Mail. "I'm just thankful there was no structural damage."
Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice said Clarke merely was standing up for one of his players.
"That's what it's all about," Maurice told the newspaper. "Whether you're a player or in the office, you take care of your own."
Five Flyers have been punished this season for on-ice incidents. In addition to Downie's 20-game suspension, Jesse Boulerice was suspended 25 games for a cross-check to the head of Vancouver center Ryan Kesler; Randy Jones was out two games for a hit from behind on Boston center Patrice Bergeron, who has not played since the Oct. 27 hit; Scott Hartnell got two games for hitting Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts' head into the boards when Alberts was on his knees; and Riley Cote got a three-game suspension for his hit to the head of Dallas defenseman Matt Niskanen.
Clarke, one of the Broad Street Bullies of the '70s, was the Flyers' general manager when the team took Downie 29th overall in the 2005 draft. He also defended Downie's hit on McAmmond.
"My own personal feeling is that Colin Campbell overreacted," he said about the 20-game suspension.
"The hit that Downie threw on McAmmond was not a whole lot different than the hits we all admired, including myself - that Scott Stevens used to do on open ice. He hit lots of heads and hurt lots of people, and we said it was great.
"To suspend him [Downie] for 20 games is ridiculous. McAmmond was a veteran player who was skating and watching his pass and got nailed. Sorry for it, too bad he got hurt, but it was his own fault as much as it was Downie's."
Contact staff writer Don McKee at 215-854-4611 or dmckee@phillynews.com.
