NHL Discussion

[mcm1610]

That's hockey...good, solid open ice hit. Sutter should have kept his head up and probably should have seen Weight in the vicinity.

I totally agree with Carolina's GM. The NHL, after watching that hit and many like it, is not concerned with hits to the head. Doug Weight took advantage of someone with their head down and buried his shoulder in to the guy's head. That kind of hitting is simply dangerous and can only result in injury. At some point its going to result in a major injury. The dude was knocked unconscious. At some point somebody is going to get knocked out and hit their head a lot harder. Imagine if they get their helmet knocked off too.

That hit is clean in the current NHL but I don't necessarily agree it should be.

Before you say you agree or disagree read this: http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=253894

I've seen the GM quote and understand where it's coming from, but what does anyone expect Weight to do in that situation? He's skating full speed and doesn't anticipate Sutter dropping down so low to reach for a puck. You never, EVER expose yourself that much, especially in open ice with someone approaching. Weight was 2 steps away when Sutter reached for the puck and put his head below Weight's shoulder. Is he supposed to jump over him to avoid the hit? His arm was down, and he didn't even push up like most hitters do. Even with a head-hitting rule, I'd argue against this being a penalty because it's just like turning away and getting checked from behind - the receiving player put himself in that position.

[sgoodcore]

I totally agree with Carolina's GM. The NHL, after watching that hit and many like it, is not concerned with hits to the head. Doug Weight took advantage of someone with their head down and buried his shoulder in to the guy's head. That kind of hitting is simply dangerous and can only result in injury. At some point its going to result in a major injury. The dude was knocked unconscious. At some point somebody is going to get knocked out and hit their head a lot harder. Imagine if they get their helmet knocked off too.

That hit is clean in the current NHL but I don't necessarily agree it should be.

Before you say you agree or disagree read this: http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=253894

I've seen the GM quote and understand where it's coming from, but what does anyone expect Weight to do in that situation? He's skating full speed and doesn't anticipate Sutter dropping down so low to reach for a puck. You never, EVER expose yourself that much, especially in open ice with someone approaching. Weight was 2 steps away when Sutter reached for the puck and put his head below Weight's shoulder. Is he supposed to jump over him to avoid the hit? His arm was down, and he didn't even push up like most hitters do. Even with a head-hitting rule, I'd argue against this being a penalty because it's just like turning away and getting checked from behind - the receiving player put himself in that position.

That's the point of view that's going to result in a ton of people getting seriously injured. Using the Weight example as the only example and pointing to this specific situation is folly. You respect your fellow players and you don't try to hurt them. Burying your shoulder in to their head is trying to hurt someone.

[ihprstl]

That's hockey...good, solid open ice hit. Sutter should have kept his head up and probably should have seen Weight in the vicinity.

I totally agree with Carolina's GM. The NHL, after watching that hit and many like it, is not concerned with hits to the head. Doug Weight took advantage of someone with their head down and buried his shoulder in to the guy's head. That kind of hitting is simply dangerous and can only result in injury. At some point its going to result in a major injury. The dude was knocked unconscious. At some point somebody is going to get knocked out and hit their head a lot harder. Imagine if they get their helmet knocked off too.

That hit is clean in the current NHL but I don't necessarily agree it should be.

Before you say you agree or disagree read this: http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=253894

I also agree with the GM that Weight is not an extremely physical player and that he normally doesn’t hit like that. But in that situation, Weight was the last man in the zone and Sutter could have had a breakaway. I think Weight was just making sure he took the body to keep Sutter from the breakaway. Both players were moving at a very high rate of speed which made the hit that much more dangerous. I definitely don’t think he meant to hit him quite as hard as he did because he just isn’t that kind of player.

That being said, I definitely think that those open ice hits can be just as dangerous as hitting from behind. Look at that hit that Scott Stevens put on Eric Lindros a few years back. If you do want to point to one incident for a rule change, then I think that hit is a good place to start.

[mcm1610]

I've seen the GM quote and understand where it's coming from, but what does anyone expect Weight to do in that situation? He's skating full speed and doesn't anticipate Sutter dropping down so low to reach for a puck. You never, EVER expose yourself that much, especially in open ice with someone approaching. Weight was 2 steps away when Sutter reached for the puck and put his head below Weight's shoulder. Is he supposed to jump over him to avoid the hit? His arm was down, and he didn't even push up like most hitters do. Even with a head-hitting rule, I'd argue against this being a penalty because it's just like turning away and getting checked from behind - the receiving player put himself in that position.

That's the point of view that's going to result in a ton of people getting seriously injured. Using the Weight example as the only example and pointing to this specific situation is folly. You respect your fellow players and you don't try to hurt them. Burying your shoulder in to their head is trying to hurt someone.

Burying his shoulder into the opponents head wasn't his intentions though. He was going for a check that would have been shoulder-to-shoulder if the player didn't duck at the last second. Have you ever played? That's not nearly enough time to react, even in an old-man league, and the NHL is so much faster. Nothing he did, even in the Carolina announcer's point of view, showed intent to injure. It just happens, it's part of a contact sport.

I can see your argument in other hits, including Campbell's hit on what'shisface in Philly a few years ago.. Umberger, but Weight was not nearly in the same league. Campbell did have the upward motion and a bit more time to react, but it's within the rules that are still in place.

[mcm1610]

I totally agree with Carolina's GM. The NHL, after watching that hit and many like it, is not concerned with hits to the head. Doug Weight took advantage of someone with their head down and buried his shoulder in to the guy's head. That kind of hitting is simply dangerous and can only result in injury. At some point its going to result in a major injury. The dude was knocked unconscious. At some point somebody is going to get knocked out and hit their head a lot harder. Imagine if they get their helmet knocked off too.

That hit is clean in the current NHL but I don't necessarily agree it should be.

Before you say you agree or disagree read this: http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=253894

I also agree with the GM that Weight is not an extremely physical player and that he normally doesn’t hit like that. But in that situation, Weight was the last man in the zone and Sutter could have had a breakaway. I think Weight was just making sure he took the body to keep Sutter from the breakaway. Both players were moving at a very high rate of speed which made the hit that much more dangerous. I definitely don’t think he meant to hit him quite as hard as he did because he just isn’t that kind of player.

That being said, I definitely think that those open ice hits can be just as dangerous as hitting from behind. Look at that hit that Scott Stevens put on Eric Lindros a few years back. If you do want to point to one incident for a rule change, then I think that hit is a good place to start.

This demonstrates what I was saying.. I definitely 100% agree there are hits that should be outlawed. Despite being legal, there are a lot of disrespectful headshots. This Weight hit is unavoidable though. The only thing I'm saying is that when a real anti-headshot rule gets put in place, they should leave some grey area for ducking, just like in the checking from behind rule. There are times when people get fucked up, but it's not a penalty because they were trying to avoid the hit and turned away. Whether or not Sutter knew the hit was coming, he put himself in a vulnerable spot at the last second. It wasn't a Drury looking back as Neil lays into his head hit. It wasn't Letowski admiring his pass and getting destroyed by Colby. Those were avoidable by all parties involved. Weight had no where else to go once he committed to throwing the bodycheck, and unless you want to get rid of checking altogether, this is going to happen every once in a while. It's part of the risk of the game.

[sgoodcore]

That's the point of view that's going to result in a ton of people getting seriously injured. Using the Weight example as the only example and pointing to this specific situation is folly. You respect your fellow players and you don't try to hurt them. Burying your shoulder in to their head is trying to hurt someone.

Burying his shoulder into the opponents head wasn't his intentions though. He was going for a check that would have been shoulder-to-shoulder if the player didn't duck at the last second. Have you ever played? That's not nearly enough time to react, even in an old-man league, and the NHL is so much faster. Nothing he did, even in the Carolina announcer's point of view, showed intent to injure. It just happens, it's part of a contact sport.

I can see your argument in other hits, including Campbell's hit on what'shisface in Philly a few years ago.. Umberger, but Weight was not nearly in the same league. Campbell did have the upward motion and a bit more time to react, but it's within the rules that are still in place.

Its hard to argue intent but I'll take your word for it on the Weight hit.

Hits to the head, in general, should be penalized like they are in the OHL. Players should be mandated to wear specific types of helmets to minimize head injuries. Similar to the helmets Kariya and Lindros wear/wore after their many head injuries.

[riddle350]

man Stevens use to hit so fucking hard.

[ihprstl]

man Stevens use to hit so fucking hard.

yeah dude, he was a fucking tank...

[kirbypuckett]

Sydor requested to be traded.

[sgoodcore]

Sydor requested to be traded.

His parents sat right behind my mom and step-dad when he made his NHL debut in LA.

[kirbypuckett]

Sydor requested to be traded.

His parents sat right behind my mom and step-dad when he made his NHL debut in LA.

Neat little story.

Sydor has had a great NHL career and he's done well for us, I hope he finds a home where he can be used more often. We simply have way too many D-men and when Whitney and Gonchar comeback it's just going to be a cluster. Especially since Gologoski has proven to be NHL ready.

[andrew13]

hopefully gill will be back soon. we have Richmond in WBS, along with Engelland who can step in at a NHL level i believe. it will be hectic with that many dmen once Whitney and Gonchar are back, but it's a nice mess to have. i wouldn't be suprised if eaton is hurt yet again soon, since he's yet to play even half a season for us.

[sgoodcore]

His parents sat right behind my mom and step-dad when he made his NHL debut in LA.

Neat little story.

Sydor has had a great NHL career and he's done well for us, I hope he finds a home where he can be used more often. We simply have way too many D-men and when Whitney and Gonchar comeback it's just going to be a cluster. Especially since Gologoski has proven to be NHL ready.

Thanks, I remember the good old days of LA's young defense: Blake, Sydor, and Zhitnik. Sydor was always underrated.

[kirbypuckett]

Gill might play tonight. Dany Sabs is starting.

[mcm1610]

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww the Sabres sucked last night.

[andrew13]

such a shit game last night

[Snaggle Von Swift]

Flyers with the 7-0 win against the Thrashers

granted, its the Thrashers

but still a huge confidence boost, 3 game win streak

LETS GO FLYERS

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

dump sydor for some AHL players and GET FUCKING PESONEN UP IN THE NHL

[sgoodcore]

dump sydor for some AHL players and GET FUCKING PESONEN UP IN THE NHL

Has Sydor become that bad? I mean the Penguins aren't exactly deep on defense right now. Seems like if Sydor is passable as a puck-mover he could help them.

[murakami]

has anyone else heard rumors of a kovalchuk trade to the pens? possibly involving Colby as well, for Staal, Letang and others?

[sgoodcore]

has anyone else heard rumors of a kovalchuk trade to the pens? possibly involving Colby as well, for Staal, Letang and others?

Seems like a pretty bad trade for the Pens. I mean they need a winger for Crosby for sure but giving up Letang and Staal? I think its bogus.

Kovalchuk for Staal a more minor player and a pick but anything more and it'll work out poorly for the Pens.

[andrew13]

looked like shit YET AGAIN and sid was hurt. fucking great.

[mcm1610]

Hey Sabres, uh... WHAT THE FUCK.

[malestudent15]

dump sydor for some AHL players and GET FUCKING PESONEN UP IN THE NHL

Penguins called him up and sid is playing tonight

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

PESONENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENEN