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Red Wings’ Kronwall delivers devastating, questionable hit on Islanders’ Lee

By Scott BilleckDec 8, 2018, 8:21 PM EDT

No one walks the clean hit/dirty hit tightrope like Niklas Kronwall.

There are several montages on YouTube of Kronwall Kronwalling opponents. Some of them are hard but clean hits. Others are, well, questionable at best and there’s another one to add to that column from Saturday night.

With the Detroit Red Wings up 2-0 in the first period, Kronwall lined up Anders Lee of the New York Islanders, who was picking up a loose puck on along the boards in the neutral zone. Like many of Kronwall’s hits, it was a devastating thump.

Here’s the hit:

Lee’s head appears to be the principal point of contact and he was forced to leave the game.

UPDATE: Lee did not come out to start the second period but returned later in the frame

The comments section is going to be full of, ‘Lee needs to keep his head up.’

That is true. The player has a responsibility to protect himself.

But what is also true is this: Just because a guy’s head is down doesn’t mean there’s free rein to pulverize his brain.

Kronwall had some time to change how he was going to hit Lee, either the angle or the magnitude of the force of it.

Josh Bailey went for retribution later in the period, first getting a slew foot in on Kronwall and then fighting Dylan Larkin.

Lee leads the Islanders with 11 goals and is tied with Josh Bailey for the most points with 22.

Time will tell, but you have to imagine that George Parros and the Department of Player Safety will give this one a long look.

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

Datsyuk’s rehab taking longer than expected

By Jason BroughJul 20, 2015, 10:59 AM EDT

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When Pavel Datsyuk underwent ankle surgery in June, there was hope he’d be ready to start the regular season.

That hope appears to have faded.

Via MLive and Puck Daddy, the 37-year-old told SVT.se that the rehabilitation time has proven to be considerably longer than first thought. As a result, he may be out of action four or five months, which could push the start of his season into November.

Datsyuk only has two years left on his contract. While he still has the ability to dazzle, his injury log is only growing longer as his time in the NHL winds down. He hasn’t played more than 70 games since 2009-10.

That Henrik Zetterberg, the Wings’ other great center, and Niklas Kronwall, still their best defenseman, are each 34 years old only adds to the urgency to make a run at the Stanley Cup, before the reins are officially handed to the next generation.

Detroit signs Smith to two-year, $5.5 million extension

By Mike HalfordJun 30, 2015, 3:54 PM EDT

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The Red Wings have reached an agreement with RFA blueliner Brendan Smith, signing him to a two-year, $5.5 million deal with a $2.75M average annual cap hit.

Smith, 26, was Detroit’s first-round pick at the 2007 draft and appeared in a career-high 76 games last year.

Despite that games played total, it wasn’t an incredibly successful campaign; Smith’s numbers took a dip (in points and minutes per game, specifically) and former head coach Mike Babcock made him a healthy scratch for Game 1 of the club’s opening-round series against Tampa Bay.

Still, Smith figures to be a fairly key cog of Detroit’s defense moving forward.

He’s scored himself a pretty decent raise — up from the $1.26M he was making annually on his old deal — and should be firmly planted in the top-six group alongside Niklas Kronwall, Kyle Quincey, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindl and Danny DeKeyser next season.

Hedman’s stellar play draws attention to Olympic omission

By Ryan DadounJun 9, 2015, 6:00 PM EDT

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Defenseman Victor Hedman need some time to develop into a player worthy of the expectations thrust upon him when he was taken with the second overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry, but he’s certainly been a big part of the Lightning’s run to the Stanley Cup Final.

In fact, Hedman has been playing at an elite level for a little while now and it’s gotten to the point where it’s encouraged of a reexamining of Sweden’s 2014 Olympic roster decisions. He was left off that team as they went with a defensive core of Alexander Edler, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jonathan Ericsson, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Erik Karlsson, Niklas Kronwall, Johnny Oduya, and Henrik Tallinder. That group is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but was there really no room in there for Hedman?

Swedish coach Par Marts was the one to reject Hedman and he doesn’t regret that decision, per Aftonbladet. As he pointed out, it’s easy to criticize in hindsight and he argued that Hedman wouldn’t have gotten the ice time he deserved if he was put on the roster, in part because they leaned towards the defensive pairings in Detroit (Ericsson-Kronwall) and Chicago (Hjalmarsson-Oduya). At the same time though, plenty of star players go into the Olympics with the understanding that they won’t get the minutes that they’re accustomed to.

“I was surprised that he didn’t make the team,” Blackhawks defenseman Hjalmarsson said during Tuesday’s press availability. “Obviously he’s a good player.”

Hedman admitted to being disappointed, but he said it wasn’t difficult for him to switch his focus to Tampa Bay’s next game after finding out he wouldn’t make the team. Certainly he has plenty to be pleased about at this point as he took another step forward in 2014-15 and needs just two more wins to win the Cup.

Marts did leave the door open to him reaching out to Hedman over the summer. The fact that he didn’t make the 2014 team was eyebrow raising, but it will be a far bigger story if NHL players go to the 2018 Olympics and Hedman is once again left off the roster.

Follow @RyanDadoun

NHL announces Round 2 playoff officials

By Mike HalfordApr 30, 2015, 11:18 AM EDT

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The NHL has announced the 12 referees, 12 linesmen and four standby officials that will work the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Referees: Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt, Marc Joannette, Steve Kozari, Chris Lee, Wes McCauley, Dan O’Halloran, Dan O’Rourke, Kevin Pollock, Chris Rooney, Kelly Sutherland, Brad Watson.

Linesmen: Derek Amell, Scott Cherrey, Michel Cormier, Greg Devorski, Shane Heyer, Brad Kovachik, Steve Miller, Brian Murphy, Derek Nansen, Brian Pancich, Pierre Racicot, Jay Sharrers.

Standbys: Francis Charron, Francois St. Laurent (referees), David Brisebois, Mark Shewchyk (linesmen).

A few notes to pass along…

• Those dropped from Round 1? Jean Hebert, Dave Jackson, Frederick L’Ecuyer, Brad Meier, Brian Pochmara and Justin St. Pierre.

• Lee, who’s quick whistle in Game 6 of the Ottawa-Montreal series cost the Senators a goal, will move on despite his highly-publicized error.

• Of the two referees that failed to call a penalty on Niklas Kronwall’s suspension-worthy charge in Game 6 of the Detroit-Tampa Bay series, Kozari is moving onto Round 2 while Jackson has been dropped from the rotation.