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Bring Back The Bruise Bros

The Official NHL Suspension Thread

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Any light sentence will be construed as favoritism to the Wings. Shanny knows this.

esteef

I don't see that card being pulled (obviously not counting fans who would say a lifetime ban was getting off lightly because the Wings player didn't get the death penalty). Shanahan has played for numerous teams (even if his Stanley Cups are with the Wings) so I think he can pretty safely be seen as impartial. I'm willing to believe he'll be fair until he isn't.

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I don't voice my opinion here all that often, but I just feel the need to say something about this Smith hit. I know I'll probably get negative votes for this, but I would be more than happy for Smith to get the book thrown at him for this infraction. I'd be glad to have a Wings player be a catalyst for change in the NHL and have better player safety. The NHL isn't going to change the "football style" shoulder pads, because there's marketing involved. The NHL isn't going to change the faster skates or add the two-line pass back in, because fans love the faster game. Players need to watch out for each other. Hockey is a game, for gods sake... no matter how much we like to think of it as a religion.

The players aren't animals. Hockey players aren't cattle, or dogs made to fight for our enjoyment. This Smith kid (the one from Chicago) is a goddamned human being. I don't care if he toe-dragged. I don't care if his head went down. He's a human being. He has a right to not get his head smashed off by our Smith. Smith could have drilled him shoulder or shoulder. He could have - gasp - *hipchecked* him! That's what an old-school hockey fan should want... not this high hit chickensh*t crap. It shouldn't matter if the player that gets hit puts himself in the position to get hit in the head. You JUST. DON'T. FOLLOW. THROUGH. THE. CHECK.

I'm sorry, but I LOVE hockey... I LOVE the Red Wings... I LOVE physical hockey (Joey Kocur was my hero when I was growing up, followed closely by Stevie)... I *REALLY* like Smith... but I HATE the high hits and concussions that the NHL is facing on a far too regular basis. Smith seems like a tough young kid. Throw the book at him... he can take it, and hopefully he - and the rest of the NHL - can learn from it.

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I don't voice my opinion here all that often, but I just feel the need to say something about this Smith hit. I know I'll probably get negative votes for this, but I would be more than happy for Smith to get the book thrown at him for this infraction. I'd be glad to have a Wings player be a catalyst for change in the NHL and have better player safety. The NHL isn't going to change the "football style" shoulder pads, because there's marketing involved. The NHL isn't going to change the faster skates or add the two-line pass back in, because fans love the faster game. Players need to watch out for each other. Hockey is a game, for gods sake... no matter how much we like to think of it as a religion.

The players aren't animals. Hockey players aren't cattle, or dogs made to fight for our enjoyment. This Smith kid (the one from Chicago) is a goddamned human being. I don't care if he toe-dragged. I don't care if his head went down. He's a human being. He has a right to not get his head smashed off by our Smith. Smith could have drilled him shoulder or shoulder. He could have - gasp - *hipchecked* him! That's what an old-school hockey fan should want... not this high hit chickensh*t crap. It shouldn't matter if the player that gets hit puts himself in the position to get hit in the head. You JUST. DON'T. FOLLOW. THROUGH. THE. CHECK.

I'm sorry, but I LOVE hockey... I LOVE the Red Wings... I LOVE physical hockey (Joey Kocur was my hero when I was growing up, followed closely by Stevie)... I *REALLY* like Smith... but I HATE the high hits and concussions that the NHL is facing on a far too regular basis. Smith seems like a tough young kid. Throw the book at him... he can take it, and hopefully he - and the rest of the NHL - can learn from it.

give me a couple mil and u can hit me in the head all u want. no one is forcing them to play hockey. they can play soccer.

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Guest Shoreline
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If the NHL feels marketing pads that help injure other players easier is good to stay, we need to stop taking them serious on the issue of injury prevention, especially head injuries.

As it is, I've been debating in my own head the last few seasons if the NHL is really interested in taking a close look at these injuries or, following my skeptic's gut and thinking they're just doing the bare minimum one should expect from any business to try and pull themselves out of the type of scrutiny an independent oversight panel can provide. I like what Shanny has done as far as discipline goes but the NHL has to go much further to make me believe this is more than just a dog and pony show just like the NFL. Weigh that with the fact that it's a physical sport, and injuries are just going to happen as it's part of that. There's no way to idealize the perfect hit and expect players to achieve this given the speed and accepted physicality involved.

Edited by Shoreline

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give me a couple mil and u can hit me in the head all u want. no one is forcing them to play hockey. they can play soccer.

Maybe you would sign up for that, but that isn't what NHL players are signing up for. I'd like to think NHL players have more respect for fellow humans that that.

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Maybe you would sign up for that, but that isn't what NHL players are signing up for. I'd like to think NHL players have more respect for fellow humans that that.

What are they signing up for?

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Maybe you would sign up for that, but that isn't what NHL players are signing up for. I'd like to think NHL players have more respect for fellow humans that that.

wha???? Have you never seen video from when Howe played and his damn elbows?..Billy Smith...Eddie Shore....heck even Mark Messier was mean.

Didn't call him "Terrible" Ted Lindsay for the flowers he would pass out to the other team=)

Edited by hillbillywingsfan

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What are they signing up for?

UGH. Why do you have to *ASK* that question??? THEY ARE SIGNING UP TO PLAY HOCKEY. A GAME. Like... I get physicality. I get it. I really do. I love a nice open-ice hit as much as the next hockey fan. *But* I don't want to see human beings turned into a puddle on the ice from a headshot! Fight the guy if you want to fight, but at least then you're both agreeing to the possibility of concussions. Headshots WILL lead to brain damage and brain damage can (but doesn't always) lead to misery later in life. I can't believe I'm actually using this as an argument, but one of the best skilled players in the league right now - Sidney Crosby - is sitting on his duff (metaphorically speaking) not playing hockey right now. That is bad for the game, regardless of how much we hate the bastard. Headshots just need to be cut out of the game, regardless of intent. They need to be punished and dealt with until players learn its not ok to follow through or cause headshots.

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give me a couple mil and u can hit me in the head all u want. no one is forcing them to play hockey. they can play soccer.

There are more torn ACLs in soccer per year than hockey, so why do you hate soccer so much? Hockey is still a physical game, the only thing that's being weeded out of it are the hits to the head, which every sport is trying to do and not just hockey. Get over it or stop watching the sport, no one is forcing you to watch hockey if you hate it so much. If hockey was all about hitting and you get one point for every concussion you deliver I'd watch it. If hockey was all about how many saucer passes you could complete in a row, I'd watch it. Watch the sport and quit ******* bitching. The sports evolving and so should you or stop watching it and GTFO.

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And this is from Sean O'Donnell

“It seemed like when I first broke into the league, you would hit hard, but if a guy was in a vulnerable spot, you would ease up,” veteran Sean O’Donnell, 39, said. “And now it seems like some of the guys, when guys are in a vulnerable spot, their eyes light up. I don’t know where this mind-set came from. I’m not saying that about [Wednesday’s] hit. I’m talking about in general.“Some of that self-respect for your fellow teammate, fellow NHLer or human being doesn’t seem to be there. I’m not sure why, but we do need to eliminate this because those brain injuries are dangerous things.”

Sean O'Donnell has over 100 career NHL fights, and if he is saying that things need/needed to change, then who are you to argue?

And here is how O'Donnell hits:

He hits hard and legal most of the time. This is how he thinks you should hit players, not like this:

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And this is from Sean O'Donnell

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Sean O'Donnell has over 100 career NHL fights, and if he is saying that things need/needed to change, then who are you to argue?

And here is how O'Donnell hits:

He hits hard and legal most of the time. This is how he thinks you should hit players, not like this:

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I've always liked O'Donnell, and I think most NHLers agree with him on this subject. It would be interesting to hear from another seasoned vet on the respect among NHLers now compared to the 80s and 90s.

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I've always liked O'Donnell, and I think most NHLers agree with him on this subject. It would be interesting to hear from another seasoned vet on the respect among NHLers now compared to the 80s and 90s.

Same here, except when he played for the Disney Ducks :P. O'Donnell also played when Stevens played, so it's not like he didn't have one of the most feared hitters in the league at the same time as him. We hear all the time from announcers who use to play the game that the respect is gone, and if players won't respect one another, then certain hits need to be out of the game or else it's going to turn into "who can hit each other in the head the hardest", which isn't good with the new research done about concussions and the LIFE ALTERING EFFECTS they can lead to. We just had a guy go from 96, 97, 78, 88 points down to retirement, because of these hits and the idiots that do them.

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This is how he thinks you should hit players, not like this:

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See, this hit is sorta in the grey area for me (There's no slowmo to observe contact, so I will admit now I could be very wrong on this). He wanted to bust some heads on that hit, but that's still a hit he has to take. He should have eased up or gone low. I don't want to ever see a player not take that shot. That's good play. I just agree that headshots are a big no and he should have not throw the shoulder like he did. The first hit is the same way, that was a monster of a check. But the big difference for me is he didn't target and throw the shoulder at his head. He jumped into it it looked like (penalty) but he wasn't intentionally aiming for the guy's head. If it's an unintentional head hit or bad angle it should be a penalty but not a fine. If it's with intent like any illegal hit it should be a suspension at least. Just like when they started cracking down on hits from behind, I think it'll take awhile for everyone to get on the same page. I never said it shouldn't have been a penalty because he toe-dragged and set himself up for it. I just think in that sort of situation if the player clearly did not throw the elbow intentionally, a suspension is uncalled for. If he had thrown an elbow and capped the dude, yeah suspension. But you can't ask a hockey player to know where every single body part is every second of the game. If it's unintentional stick with just a penalty. You should pause before suspending someone for an unintentional head contact.

Old school hockey was really rough, and Howe did throw elbows at times. But I seriously doubt he intentionally dropped bombs on other players heads to try and knock them out of the game. And even if he and other old school players did, we don't need that in hockey. Shanahan wants the game rough but clean, and I think he needs to worry about being too black and white on the issue, but it's a decent start.

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See, this hit is sorta in the grey area for me (There's no slowmo to observe contact, so I will admit now I could be very wrong on this). He wanted to bust some heads on that hit, but that's still a hit he has to take. He should have eased up or gone low. I don't want to ever see a player not take that shot. That's good play. I just agree that headshots are a big no and he should have not throw the shoulder like he did. The first hit is the same way, that was a monster of a check. But the big difference for me is he didn't target and throw the shoulder at his head. He jumped into it it looked like (penalty) but he wasn't intentionally aiming for the guy's head. If it's an unintentional head hit or bad angle it should be a penalty but not a fine. If it's with intent like any illegal hit it should be a suspension at least. Just like when they started cracking down on hits from behind, I think it'll take awhile for everyone to get on the same page. I never said it shouldn't have been a penalty because he toe-dragged and set himself up for it. I just think in that sort of situation if the player clearly did not throw the elbow intentionally, a suspension is uncalled for. If he had thrown an elbow and capped the dude, yeah suspension. But you can't ask a hockey player to know where every single body part is every second of the game. If it's unintentional stick with just a penalty. You should pause before suspending someone for an unintentional head contact.

Old school hockey was really rough, and Howe did throw elbows at times. But I seriously doubt he intentionally dropped bombs on other players heads to try and knock them out of the game. And even if he and other old school players did, we don't need that in hockey. Shanahan wants the game rough but clean, and I think he needs to worry about being too black and white on the issue, but it's a decent start.

Bullcrap. He doesn't need to make that hit at all. He could have gone shoulder to shoulder or not even hit him. There was zero point to that hit besides Richards wanting to decapitate someone. Slow-mo or regular speed, it doesn't matter. The head was the only thing contacted and it's the only thing that was ever going to be contacted. Howe and Terrible Ted never did crap like that. They'd at least look you in the eyes before they'd land the people's elbow on you. It's incomprehensible how someone can't see anything wrong with that hit. I don't know if you're just a troll, but at least most of the enforcer slappies can recognize bad hits when they see them.

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MacArthur's "hit" is gathering attention on HF.

Good. At least Smith's headshot was with the intent of stop a puck mover and trying to be a hockey player. MacArthur had only one intention in mind, and it's clear what that intention was. That's one of the few instances I don't mind fighting. Someone legitimitly cheap shots you and you go after him to beat the snot out of him. The more often than not clean hits Kronwall does are awesome, but annoying because after a clean hit players feel the need to try and fight you. Abby was in the right to try and seek retribution on that ******.

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Good. At least Smith's headshot was with the intent of stop a puck mover and trying to be a hockey player. MacArthur had only one intention in mind, and it's clear what that intention was. That's one of the few instances I don't mind fighting. Someone legitimitly cheap shots you and you go after him to beat the snot out of him. The more often than not clean hits Kronwall does are awesome, but annoying because after a clean hit players feel the need to try and fight you. Abby was in the right to try and seek retribution on that ******.

I know what you mean, but at the same time, would you agree Abby practiced his salesman abilities on that one a little bit?

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I know what you mean, but at the same time, would you agree Abby practiced his salesman abilities on that one a little bit?

I'm disappointed in Abby. Honestly MacArthur was acting like a ******, but he actually could've cranked Abby in the head but seemed to let up.

Abdelkader's flop only justifies the fears of people criticizing Shanny's suspensions. They need to eliminate headhunting from the game. But they don't need to add guys exaggerating blows to the head to draw a penalty.

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I know what you mean, but at the same time, would you agree Abby practiced his salesman abilities on that one a little bit?

He completely flopped, but he still did take a headshot. It's like when you get hooked and embellish it, you still got hooked. IF he would have been grazed and flopped it would be different and I'd be shakin' my head at him, but he did take a nice shot on that. It's not like Jumbo Joe diving or any of the Nucks' diving after a tap someone. I think there is a fine line between diving and embellishing and to me AppleFritters embellished but didn't dive.

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Another instance when I think Babcock is overreacting. Same thing with the Smith vs Smith incident. Is he trying to manipulate someone?

Detroit Free Press

Babcock took offense to MacArthur's hit on Justin Abdelkader at the end of regulation. "The guy's head twisted right around, so I assume Shanny (league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan) will look at it. To me, this is a blind-side hit from the side and it's a tough one."

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