I’m not one to just openly bash players or coaches, but frankly I’m
getting weary and angry of constantly writing about dangerous and
illegal hits instead of actually covering hockey. So when I watched the
James Wisniewski hit on Brent Seabrook last night, I just sighed to
myself and readied myself for another debate on illegal hits and the
NHL’s punishment system.
Personally, I am a stern believer that
any dangerous hits in hockey should be sternly dealt with immediately
and with increasingly severe punishments. I don’t want hockey to become a
‘wimpy’ sport, but I also don’t want this sport that I love to brought
to the general public’s attention only when there is a shockingly bad
hit to cover.
What really irks me is when teams turn a blind eye
to the transgressions one of their players has committed. I am all for
defending your teammates and your players, but there is also a
responsibility of the coaches and leaders on the team to not promote the
dangerous plays we’re seeing with more and more frequency in the NHL.
After
last night’s game between the Ducks and Blackhawks, the Ducks seem to
be confused about what happened in last night’s game. Here are some
quotes from Wisniewski and coach Randy Carlisle, courtesy
of Eric
Stephens of the Ducks Blog on the OC Register:
“That
is the hot topic and it probably will get looked at,” Wisniewski
said. “I think the result wasn’t because of a shot to the head. I’m
5-11. He’s 6-3. I really think what happened was my face hit his face.
That’s why I got a slit right here because of the visor came down and
hit me right in the face too after we collided heads.”“There’ll
be lots of banter back and forth on whether the hit was this
or the hit was that,” the coach said. “Bottom line is that he hit the
hockey player. He used his body, his arms were down and he made a hard
hit on a player. We’ll let other people make those decisions.”“Nothing surprises you in the way these things are dealt with,” Coach
Randy Carlyle said. “There’s a criteria that the
league follows. We have always taken the stance that we don’t always
have to agree with what the league decision is.“We have our point of view. We have ample video. We’ll watch it and
analyze it. We’ll plead our case if there needs to be a case pleaded.”
Here’s the reality of the hit: Wisniewski had Seabrook lined up for a
big hit from the top of the faceoff circle. He wasn’t looking at the
puck at all; if he had been, he would have realized that Seabrook never
had the puck to begin with. He was focused on Seabrook and determined to
lay him out with a big hit.
It’s true that their faces seemed to be the first to collide. But his
arms weren’t necessarily down, as he and his coach claim. Take a look
at the picture above (this is the best quality I could get of this exact
moment as they collided). His arm was not the first to make contact,
but his arms were raised and they drove Seabrook’s head hard into the
boards.
To think that NHL should not take action for this hit is delusional.
This is an even more clear-cut illegal hit that should result in a
suspension, much more so than the Ovechkin hit. And the NHL cannot claim
they have no rule to fall back on here: charging, boarding, intent to
injure. You name it.
It’s not like this should be anything new for the Ducks. To say they
have an unsavory reputation when it comes to dirty hits is just a bit of
an understatement.
I understand that the Ducks want to defend their player. But don’t
just turn a blind eye to, and pretty much promote, what’s driving this
league straight into the ground.
(Photo courtesy of FSN and NHL Network)
