Predators' Rich Clune a dirty player?

From NHL.com - Predators' Clune fined $1,452.70 for boarding (YouTube video)

After this hit I automatically started reading people's comments about Nashville forward Rich Clune being a reckless player, despite the fact that this was his first supplemental discipline from the NHL, and the fact that his NHL career consists of only 30 games so far.

The worst thing Clune ever did in juniors was an incident where he did push-ups after scoring an empty-net goal while playing for the OHL Barrie Colts. Lame on his part, but nothing to do with his play. (Ironically, at the end of that month he received the Colts' monthly Sportsmanship Award. *confused*)

While Clune's hit on Colorado's Aaron Palushaj was flagrant, I don't see him as a truly reckless player. The main reason players like Clune are more likely to get fines or suspensions is that they are relentless checkers, and mistakes are bound to happen. (Not that those types of mistakes shouldn't be punished. Fines and suspensions are needed to make sure players don't become reckless by becoming negligent.)

Over a longer career, I expect the number of infractions against Clune to be below average compared to most players considered reckless, and deserving of the reputation. There are a number of players whose games involve little checking but who are truly reckless. Players who use their sticks as weapons, and players that, when they do hit another player, they do so when those players are in a vulnerable position, with obvious intent to injure.

Tenacious players like Clune rarely intend to actually injure an opponent, since they're too busy simply checking one opponent man then moving on to the next. Most of the time, when they do skirt the line, they do so in the heat of battle. Which is not a validation for ever crossing that line, but I respect players like Clune more than players who, with a clear and calculating mind, decide to take out an opponent's knee or drive them head-first into the boards.

Anyhoo...