Bettman says solving hits to the head will take time

[Carman 387]

Agreed Newfy.

It's too tough to judge intent with the pace of the game today.

I'm alright with a couple game suspensions for hits to the head, but most of them are largely just split second mistakes, not premeditated hits.

If you start enforcing the penalty to for the hitter to be out as long as the person he injured then you'll just effectively kill open ice hitting. No player is going to take a physical oppurtunity when it's largely a roll of the dice if they hit the guy too high.

That said a medium length suspension wouldn't be the end of the world to me, it would diminish the premeditated hits to the head and not kill the open ice opportunities.

[WorkingOvertime 536]

Really? If the league says "hits to the head are outlawed" and you hit someone in the head and they as a result of that hit, are gone for the year......so are you. Sorry. This parsing and semantics about the angle of the head from the shoulder, the temperature of the ice upon impact, what degree give did the boards expand.....it's piddling.

If you know that hitting someone in the head, whether with your stick or your body is against the rules of the NHL and you do it anyway......you're done for however long the person you injured is out. If that's 2 games, it's 2 games. If it's a month, it's a month. Blatant disregard for the rules and by extension the safety of everyone playing the game should not be tolerated. Hockey is already a very physical, combative sport......making it worse by letting head shots go unpunished is ridiculous. I'm not talking about accidental contact where you get tripped or someone hits you and then you fall into someone else. I'm talking about direct contact to another player's head, in complete knowledge of where your body and/or stick is going. THAT s*** has got to stop. And if you don't think it does, let someone nearly break Pavs' neck.....and then we'll see where everyone stands.

That's all great in theory, but it just doesn't apply to real hockey. Have you ever played competitive hockey? It doesn't work like that. Do you think Richards was trying to target Booth's head? Hits like that should be punishable, but you cannot base it on the injury. For those that have played hockey, the hit to the head is a lot like checking from behind. While it can be done purposely, most of the time a check from behind is a result of bad judgment, the player turning, unpreparedness of player being hit, etc.

[uk_redwing 495]

uk_redwing

It's okay......I feel your pain sometimes. Take a deep breath, though. You're amongst friends.

I was already pretty annoyed that day thanks to a certain World Cup result and really didn't need to be confronted with someone acting like that.

Then again, I wouldn't really expect a trolling idiot like that to pop up so frequently and randomly but hey thats how LGW is nowadays

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Getting rid of the stupidity he's introduced into hockey will take even more time.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From The Province :

...

The NHL’s board of governors met for five hours Thursday and endorsed the new wording on head shots. Blindside hits will now be a mandatory major and game misconduct, with possible suspensions coming.

...

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

So does that mean that Kronnwall style hits, while not headshots, will be banned?

[eva unit zero 271]

That's all great in theory, but it just doesn't apply to real hockey. Have you ever played competitive hockey? It doesn't work like that. Do you think Richards was trying to target Booth's head? Hits like that should be punishable, but you cannot base it on the injury. For those that have played hockey, the hit to the head is a lot like checking from behind. While it can be done purposely, most of the time a check from behind is a result of bad judgment, the player turning, unpreparedness of player being hit, etc.

Richards' hit was clean; the head part was accidental. He had initiated a hit that would hit the puck carrier, Booth, shoulder-to-shoulder, when Booth suddenly changed his position, lowering his head into Richards' hit. Happens a lot of the time. Granted, intentional hits to the head happen a lot as well, but Richards was throwing a clean check that went wrong due to Booth's change of position. Think about Pronger trying to hit Yzerman. Pronger missed Yzerman because Yzerman pretty much dodged the hit. What if Yzerman doesn't make it out of the way and suffers a career-ending injury because of his unusual position? While Pronger was not exactly throwing the cleanest of hits, he wasn't trying to end Yzerman's career.

I suppose it's like the high sticking rule. If I am trying to get out of a corner scrum because the puck has been kicked out, but my stick is being held against the boards so I have to lift it and I catch the guy in the chin, what happens? More often than not, I go to the box for two. If he's cut, that's an automatic four. Even if it was all a result of what should have been either a 'holding the stick' or 'interference' penalty on him.

Proper discretion as to whether the head hit was intentional is important. The "effect equals suspension" is crap. What happens if a guy trips me on a breakaway. Two minutes, right? Then later, I trip the same guy on a breakaway and he wrecks his knee on the goal post, missing two seasons? Am I suspended for two seasons also, even though the situation was exactly reversed with the same players, only one resulted in an injury?

The "intention" thing must be solved before the "hits to the head" can be solved. Unless you want to watch soccer on ice.

[Hockey Convert 55]

That said a medium length suspension wouldn't be the end of the world to me, it would diminish the premeditated hits to the head and not kill the open ice opportunities.

I think I agree with this, handed out by the league-review mentioned above. It seems like on-ice calls might be dicey, and prone to being blown too often. Also, get rid of the Instigator.

[jollymania 162]

How much time does it take to issue a memorandum saying hits to the head are banned, and anyone found in violation of that will be suspended without pay for however long the person they hit is out of commission? The person you hit is out for the year? So are you.

becuase some guys (umberger) deserve to be knocked out for a year, I mean he was LOOKING RIGHT AT BRAD STUART and it was CLEAN HIT, if he would have been out for longer and Stuart would be suspended you woudl eat your words.

I think one way to do it is to really punish repeat offenders and in general ****** bags like cooke or tootoo with longer suspensions.

Edited June 25, 2010 by jollymania

[titanium2 867]

What if Matt Cooke delivered the same kind of Savard hit on Bettman?

He might actually be useful for something worthwhile.

[Hockey Convert 55]

What if Matt Cooke delivered the same kind of Savard hit on Bettman?

He might actually be useful for something worthwhile.

I'm not sure it would have any effect; his head seems to be made of some sort of solidified Cheez Wiz. Also, if Cooke touched Bettman, I'd be concerned about some sort of black-hole of douchery forming and consuming the earth.

[NomadFromKazoo 42]

I'm not sure it would have any effect; his head seems to be made of some sort of solidified Cheez Wiz. Also, if Cooke touched Bettman, I'd be concerned about some sort of black-hole of douchery forming and consuming the earth.

Unfortunately whatever endless shots to the head Bettman took isn't going to get undone by more. You're right. But that said I'd like to see him take more shots to the head just for the fun of it.

[Hockey Convert 55]

Unfortunately whatever endless shots to the head Bettman took isn't going to get undone by more. You're right. But that said I'd like to see him take more shots to the head just for the fun of it.

Definitely no argument there! We did just give Bertuzzi a raise; might be time to get some use out of him...

[NomadFromKazoo 42]

Definitely no argument there! We did just give Bertuzzi a raise; might be time to get some use out of him...

Yes, he can just say it's an accident, he just was trying to check someone, flew off the ice into the stands, fell up 4 flights of stairs, through the ajar door into Bettman's box and knocked the crap out of him. Sort of like a foul ball into the stands in a baseball game. I'd buy it was an accident. Really...

[Hockey Convert 55]

Yes, he can just say it's an accident, he just was trying to check someone, flew off the ice into the stands, fell up 4 flights of stairs, through the ajar door into Bettman's box and knocked the crap out of him. Sort of like a foul ball into the stands in a baseball game. I'd buy it was an accident. Really...

Could've happened to anyone, really.