83 replies to this topic

[F.Michael]

PTI also took it on today and said the NHL is doing jack about that kind of hit. Didn't see the hit so I'm only reporting what they said. They also said that Don Cherry and others appreciate this kind of play and that most hockey fans who consistently watch also go for it. But they added if the NHL wants to gain audience they're gonna have to take care of that kind of crap.

PTI knows absolutely nothing about the NHL, or hockey in general.

Claiming Don Cherry, and many of us fans like this brand of hockey only proves their ignorace.

[eva unit zero]

Got away with what? A clean hit?

Because that's all I saw.

Until they make the rule, this is a legal hit.

Carman, I understand you support the Pens as your second-favorite team after the Wings.

But this hit has the following properties:

The only contact made is shoulder-to-head.
-Cooke hit Savard from behind; if Savard saw Cooke at all, it was only after he took his shot.
-Savard was never actually the puck carrier, and Cooke was turning to initiate his hit before the puck was within "legal" range of Savard.
-Cooke's intent was clearly to hit Savard in the head; a very physical player like Cooke won't "accidentally" nearly miss a stationary target.

This hit should have received at the very least a 2/5/10 and game, plus a suspension.

As for comparing it to the Mike Richards hit on David Booth, Booth was the puck carrier and was entering the zone along the blue line. Richards moved to lay a legal shoulder to chest check on Booth and Booth dumped the puck away, but also attempted to move to the right, out of the way of the hit, lowering his head directly into Richards' driving shoulder. The idea that Richards' clean but unfortunate hit on Booth is similar in any way but results to Cooke's blatantly dirty hit on Savard is a joke.

And for reference, Marc Savard is listed at 5'10", David Booth is listed at 6'0", and both Cooke and Richards are listed at 5'11". And usually, players are listed taller than they actually are. Regardless, Cooke and Savard are close to the same height based on the video, and the same goes for Richards and Booth. So whether they are leprechauns or giants, they are about the same height and it's not a consideration if anyone is thinking of saying "Well, Savard IS a midget."

[stevkrause]

Cooke is a joke of a player and of a human being.

period.

[Vladifan]

i thought the guys on PTI were talking about getting rid of such hits and fighting, and that current hockey fans won't ever want fighting out? They kinda likened such hits and fighting as both needing to go to get new fans

I wouldn't put it past me from mis-interpreting what I heard about the fighting/needing new fans. I was moving from room to room at the time. But I'm pretty sure I was correct on the Don Cherry reference and that something needed to be done about 'these types' of hits.

[edicius]

I'm wondering if I should be shocked or not that Cooke hasn't been suspended yet. Makes me wonder if he'll get away with this one too.

[Crashnburnluder]

I think the fact that all the GM meetings are going on and that Pittsburgh doesn't play again till Thursday they are just buying there time and figuring out what is best for the situation. Its a good thing they have this time cause they can really think it through and see if they want to make an example out of Cooke. If they don't then there will probably be a big out cry from a lot of GM's

I don't know how partial some GM's are, or which ones want strict enforcement on it and which ones don't... but I'm assuming that there are enough that due to the timing of the hit being a day before the GM meetings about head contact that there WILL be something done about this hit... and my personal opinion is that there should be....

crash

Edited by Crashnburnluder, 09 March 2010 - 12:10 PM.

[edicius]

Peter Chiarelli says Marc Savard suffered a "serious" concussion and could be done for the season, according to TFP's Twitter.

Meanwhile, Matt Cooke is probably sitting at home laughing about "just finishing his check".

[cusimano_brothers]

When I read quotes, from TSN, such as:

...
"I hope that we can do something to help fix part of the problem," said Jim Rutherford, president and general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. "But it's not really as cut-and-dry as a lot of people think."
...

or

...
Leafs GM Brian Burke said it could be time to change the thinking behind who is held responsible for contact made to the head, as the blame currently lies mostly with the recipient of the hit in a lot of cases.

"We've always put the burden on the 'hittee' and now maybe we have to shift some of that burden when a player's in a vulnerable position," Burke said. "You can finish your check but you've got to do it low, you've got to avoid contact to the head and these are things we'll talk about (Tuesday)."
...

it makes me think that the GM's don't think this is a top-priority issue.

[F.Michael]

When I read quotes, from TSN, such as:

or

it makes me think that the GM's don't think this is a top-priority issue.

I think it's a priority, but how they go about writing new rules concerning hits to the head can soon become a slippery slope.

There was 1 example how a back-checking player cannot check the puck carrier (thus reducing the blind-sided hits)...Dunno if I like something like that.

I'm in favor of throwing the book at the offender; so for example - Matt Cooke had ample time to either not hit Marc Savard, or to concentrate contact with Savard's body, but instead we all had seen Cooke go for Savard's head...IMHO this could/should warrant a 15-20 game suspension - especially since Cooke has a habit of such hits.

EDIT - also the elimination of the instigator rule would be nice; watching somone like Lucic/Thorton/Chara smack that jerk Cooke around would be nice too.

Edited by F.Michael, 09 March 2010 - 02:27 PM.

[Vladifan]

I think the fact that all the GM meetings are going on and that Pittsburgh doesn't play again till Thursday they are just buying there time and figuring out what is best for the situation. Its a good thing they have this time cause they can really think it through and see if they want to make an example out of Cooke. If they don't then there will probably be a big out cry from a lot of GM's

I don't know how partial some GM's are, or which ones want strict enforcement on it and which ones don't... but I'm assuming that there are enough that due to the timing of the hit being a day before the GM meetings about head contact that there WILL be something done about this hit... and my personal opinion is that there should be....

crash

I think the thing that's confusing me no end right now is that SOMEone on the NHL network said that some/many/whatever(?) owners don't see this as a clear-cut issue. This has to be bulls***. I would assume one could look at the timing of the hit, the angle (ala, behind as opposed to in front or side), and WHERE on the body the target is hit. I firmly believe something has to be done about these potentially dangerous cheapshots and it should not rely on what owners like Burke say - that it depends on the results to the hitee. That doesn't happen in football so why should they even have to consider that in hockey?

[Kira]

Why do I have the God awful feeling that Cooke is gonna get off scot free and the Bruins are gonna be without their star player for a lengthy amount of time? The way they're hemming and hawing tells me that he's gonna get by without even a slap on the wrist. Now if it had been Crysby or someone like that, they would have thrown the book at the person who hit him, but because it's "only" a Boston player, Cooke is gonna skate away laughing about it and nothing will happen.

Leaves an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.

[cusimano_brothers]

From TSN :

NHL general managers are ready to take a firm stance on hits to the head.

They moved one step closer to making an official rule recommendation Tuesday when the eight-man group in charge of examining the issue came up with a penalty designed to curb head shots. They'll present the idea to the larger group Wednesday and are expected to have a formal proposal for the competition committee when the meetings wrap up.
...

Most asked question: "Who's catering the buffet?"

[edicius]

Why do I have the God awful feeling that Cooke is gonna get off scot free and the Bruins are gonna be without their star player for a lengthy amount of time? The way they're hemming and hawing tells me that he's gonna get by without even a slap on the wrist. Now if it had been Crysby or someone like that, they would have thrown the book at the person who hit him, but because it's "only" a Boston player, Cooke is gonna skate away laughing about it and nothing will happen.

Leaves an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.

That's what I'm anticipating too. What's disturbing is that he's a repeat offender with these intent-to-injure kind of plays, but - with the exception of one paltry 2 or 3 game suspension this season - he gets a free pass. Is it because he plays for the Penguins? Who knows? What IS known is that he deserves to get a very lengthy suspension here...and he'll likely get none because the league will show, once again, that it has no idea what the hell it's doing.

[cusimano_brothers]

From TSN :

The Boston Bruins announced Tuesday that Marc Savard is ready to return.

The forward has been officially cleared medically and will be in the lineup for Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
...

[stormboy]

From TSN :

good. i've always liked savard, and i don't like any series in which any team is missing one of their top players. if we beat the sharks without thornton or the hawks without kane (or the yotes without doan???) i wouldn't be as satisfied. i'd take the win, of course, but i'd rather all teams be at their full potential when going into a playoff series.

[cusimano_brothers]

From TSN :

The Boston Bruins released a statement Tuesday evening denying a local report that suggested forward Marc Savard could miss the upcoming season with post-concussion syndrome.
...

[redwingfan19]

he came back to play for boston in the playoffs so I think he would be fine unless he had a set back over the summer. either way, he's in lilja territory. one hit away from being done and savard ain't young either

[edicius]

And yet, that piece of garbage Cooke is still playing and laughing about it. Prick.

[cusimano_brothers]

From Boston Globe:

Bruins center Marc Savard is going to be more cautious this time.

Savard played for Boston in the postseason after suffering a concussion in March, but acknowledged Saturday he was still feeling the effects of the injury during the Bruins' loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
...

...
"I think, of my own fault, I might've come back a little too early here, so that's my own fault.
...

I don't remember reading that Savard had training in self diagnosis; somebody is lying. Now, his statements seem to take the Bruins off the hook. The team's medical staff, and the other professionals who handled this case, should have stepped in and told him "no".

[eva unit zero]

I think it's a priority, but how they go about writing new rules concerning hits to the head can soon become a slippery slope.

There was 1 example how a back-checking player cannot check the puck carrier (thus reducing the blind-sided hits)...Dunno if I like something like that.

I'm in favor of throwing the book at the offender; so for example - Matt Cooke had ample time to either not hit Marc Savard, or to concentrate contact with Savard's body, but instead we all had seen Cooke go for Savard's head...IMHO this could/should warrant a 15-20 game suspension - especially since Cooke has a habit of such hits.

EDIT - also the elimination of the instigator rule would be nice; watching somone like Lucic/Thorton/Chara smack that jerk Cooke around would be nice too.

Ok, explain this one to me. I understand the idea of "immediate payback" by having an enforcer. I've been a hockey fan for a long time, I grew up watching Probert and Kocur. But explain to me how eliminating the instigator rule gets rid of injuries.

Better yet, explain it to Cam Neely. Explain it to Pat LaFontaine. Explain to them about how enforcers protect star players from cheap shots. I bet they'd like to hear it as much as I would.