Brendan Witt delivers a head shot to Niklas Hagman

[The Mule 0]

I've always liked Witt, but that was a dirty, dirty hit. He should be suspended, at the bare minimum, five games. I'm hoping for more, however, as Hagman is one of my favorite players in the league not wearing a Red Wings uniform.

What do you think?

Edited February 27, 2009 by The Mule

[russianswede919293 95]

I've always liked Witt, but that was a dirty, dirty hit. He should be suspended, at the bare minimum, five games. I'm hoping for more, however, as Hagman is one of my favorite players in the league not wearing a Red Wings uniform.

I typically like Witt, but he went out of his way to hit him with an elbow in the head.

At least 5 games...

[MacK_Attack 108]

Hagman's 2nd concussion of the season, out until who-knows-when.

[The Mule 0]

Hagman's 2nd concussion of the season, out until who-knows-when.

Wait, are you a Red Wings' fan or a Leafs' fan? The Leafs are my second favorite team, considering I live just outside of Toronto, so either way, right on.

[MacK_Attack 108]

Wait, are you a Red Wings' fan or a Leafs' fan? The Leafs are my second favorite team, considering I live just outside of Toronto, so either way, right on.

I thought that would've been pretty obvious

I've spent many-a-summer in Newcastle......my parents best friends used to live there when they worked at the Darlington nuke station.

[The Mule 0]

I thought that would've been pretty obvious

I've spent many-a-summer in Newcastle......my parents best friends used to live there when they worked at the Darlington nuke station.

Hahaha. Wow. That's weird.

Newcastle is such a small, awful town, I would have assumed you'd never heard of it.

[Rice 42]

Man, absolutely vicious elbow.

[MacK_Attack 108]

Hahaha. Wow. That's weird.

Newcastle is such a small, awful town, I would have assumed you'd never heard of it.

I haven't been there in 15 years, but yep, that's pretty well how I remember it

[The Mule 0]

I haven't been there in 15 years, but yep, that's pretty well how I remember it

I've been here for almost 21 years, and I have no idea why I'm still here. I question this day after day, but I've never done anything about it. Haha. Perhaps I should get this show on the road?

[spyder 0]

Thats not an elbow.... THIS is an elbow

Edited February 27, 2009 by spyder

[boomer 0]

I've always liked Witt, but that was a dirty, dirty hit. He should be suspended, at the bare minimum, five games. I'm hoping for more, however, as Hagman is one of my favorite players in the league not wearing a Red Wings uniform.

What do you think?

[/quote I like Witt also, but that was a dumb move from a guy who should know better after all the injuries he's had.

[Guest Shoreline]

Clear blow to the head with little intent on playing the puck or making a legitimate check. If they wanna crack down on hits to the head, and the needless injuries, this is an exemplary situation, especially with now likely causing a concussion. Give him 10+ games.

[stevkrause 1,247]

Man, absolutely vicious elbow.

^

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

Yeah, that was pretty bad. He definitely leaned into him with the elbow too, nothing accidental about it.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

That's awful. However many games this guy gets, it won't be enough.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Dirty play. Another reason why the Islanders are one of the teams that nobody gives 2 s***s about.

[commadore183 103]

Definitely a suspendable hit. The league needs to crack down on hits like this, and crack down on it hard. 10 games minimum if I was doling out the suspension. How much Witt gets, we'll see, but I doubt it will be enough.

[Electrophile 3,554]

What an ******* move. I say suspend him for the rest of the season.

[commadore183 103]

Okay, I went over the NHL rulebook regarding this (link to the rulebook can be found in my sig, in .pdf format), and here's what I found about it:

46.1 Elbowing - Elbowing shall mean the use of an extended elbow in a

manner that may or may not cause injury.

46.3 Major Penalty - A major penalty, at the discretion of the Referee,

shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who uses his elbow to

foul an opponent. A major penalty must be imposed under this rule

for a foul resulting in an injury to the face or head of an opponent (see

46.5).

46.5 Game Misconduct Penalty - When a major penalty is imposed under

this rule for a foul resulting in an injury to the face or head of an

opponent, a game misconduct penalty shall also be imposed.

46.6 Fines and Suspensions - When a major penalty and a game

misconduct is assessed for a foul resulting in an injury to the face or

head of an opponent, an automatic fine of one hundred dollars ($100)

shall be imposed.

If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by

the Commissioner at his discretion.

So, the league will look into this, but whether any additional action other than the $100 fine will be taken is up to (I believe) Gary Bettman, unless I misunderstood the bolded part. I think you'll see, at least, a 2 game suspension, maybe 3, but I could be wrong.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Pretty sure every suspension with regards to dirty hits is doled out at the disciplinarian's discretion. The only automatic suspensions usually deal with accumulating X number of Y penalties in a season.

[IDLE19 3]

did you not see the the replay? hagmann was trying to stop and witt was following through already.

[MacK_Attack 108]

So, the league will look into this, but whether any additional action other than the $100 fine will be taken is up to (I believe) Gary Bettman, unless I misunderstood the bolded part. I think you'll see, at least, a 2 game suspension, maybe 3, but I could be wrong.

Witt is having a hearing with Colin Campbell right now.

[Shaman 713]

these hits need to be removed from the game, they dont prove anything, just show how big of an ass you are.

[Electrophile 3,554]

I understand hockey is a physical sport, but come on. Elbows to the head? What place do they have here? My guess is Witt won't be suspended for nearly as long as he should be.

[syntax 359]

What an ******* move. I say suspend him for the rest of the season.

I'm on board with this. We'll see the league's 'preventing head injuries' mantra in effect here shortly.