Brendan Smith suspended for 5 games

[toby91_ca 620]

Honestly, being as unbiased as possible, I can't believe he was given 5 games. I think that is very severe for what transpired. When comparing Smith's hit to Wisniewski's where Wiz:

1. late hit compared to buzzer

2. no change in point of contact immediately prior to contact

3. direct contact with his elbow

4. multiple repeat offender

I cannot believe Wisniewski gets 8 and Smith gets 5 (we're talking regular season games because the pre-season, based on how much they'd dress, is negligible). Hopefully the video explanation is sufficient and maybe I just disagree with some of what he'll say in terms of interpreting the hit.

I think the 2 differences you are missing, which go the other way are that: 1) Brendan came from the side (harder to see him coming, but still not totally blind) and 2) Brendan's hit had a lot more speed and force behind it.

[Konnan511 1,736]

cant fault ben smith for the drag, if he pulled it a split second sooner he woulda been all alone. cant say brendan smith hit him in the head intentionally. he was aiming for a big shoulder to shoulder hit and when ben dragged it he pulled his shoulders back leaving his head there.

It was just an unfortunate play if anything brendan will learn from it and be in better position next time

+1. This times a thousand!!!!

[mmamolo 287]

I think the 2 differences you are missing, which go the other way are that: 1) Brendan came from the side (harder to see him coming, but still not totally blind) and 2) Brendan's hit had a lot more speed and force behind it.

I'll give you that he had more speed/force behind the hit which caused a resultant injury. Coming from the side, to me, is different than coming from the blindside. Ben Smith clearly saw him coming (which players don't usually when the offender is coming from the blind side) which caused him to try and toe drag. Also, I think in this case there is a much stronger argument for the player not targetting the head when compared to Wisniewski.

Compare, in terms of discipline (not the physical act of the hit itself) Smith's hit to Shelley's. Smith gets 3 pre-season and 5 regular season while Shelley gets 5 pre-season and 5 regular season. The Shelley hit was predatory in nature, as he hit him from behind with ample time to let up, and Boyce's head when straight into the glass albeit without suffering concussion symptoms as Ben Smith has. I don't see how the difference between Shelley's (which I thought was an appriopriate number of games) is that close (2 regular season game difference) to Smith's.

[P. Marlowe 748]

Oh how have times have changed..it used to be the responsibility of the player to skate with his head up or you got crushed Scott Stevens style..how you can beat the s*** out of the puck, skate with your head down, do fancy toe drags, pay the price for it and the other dude gets 5 games. Like i said before I'm all for getting the cheap hits out of the game but this sport was built on speed, having your wits, keeping your head up and good clean aggression..clearly its changing.

The way I see it that a good smart player still keeps his head up. Not because he fears for his own safety but because he might lose a good scoring change. There's nothing wrong with defenseman hitting a forward skating with his head down. They just have to know how to do it cleanly and don't target the head cause that's very dangerous. Ben Smith could've had a good scoring chance had he kept his head up.

As always there are good players and bad players in the league. It just keeps getting different what characterises them. A good forward can be like Datsyuk. You won't see him skating with his head down as he's always looking for opportunities around him. A good physical defenseman can be like Kronwall. He knows how to throw hard checks but he knows how to do it without targeting the head. Just like few years ago when players had to learn not to obstruct and hook they know have to learn to check opponents cleanly. Those players whose success relied too much on now illegal skills will find themselves not wanted.

Edited September 30, 2011 by P. Marlowe

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Like I said before, this is going to deter guys from hitting, period.

Many of these suspensions have resulted from accidental split second plays. If guys avoid even going for a hit, they obviously won't be suspended.

Good for player safety, but not good for the physicality of the game in general.

[P. Marlowe 748]

Like I said before, this is going to deter guys from hitting, period.

Many of these suspensions have resulted from accidental split second plays. If guys avoid even going for a hit, they obviously won't be suspended.

Good for player safety, but not good for the physicality of the game in general.

Will be interesting to see if that happens though. Most players still like physical hockey. I hope even the grown-up players can still learn to adjust their game to the new rules.

[MacK_Attack 108]

Ken Holland was just on TSN Radio, said it was a fair punishment. Called the hit "a little bit reckless"

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Ken Holland was just on TSN Radio, said it was a fair punishment. Called the hit "a little bit reckless"

Way to back up your player Kenny.

It was a little reckless, but the suspension was too harsh. Fair punishment my ass.

Wait till this happens when Kronwall destroys someone by leaving his feet, then we'll see what Kenny says.

Edited September 30, 2011 by GMRwings1983

[P. Marlowe 748]

Ken Holland was just on TSN Radio, said it was a fair punishment. Called the hit "a little bit reckless"

Reckless hockey is entertaining but reckless players can so easily be liabilities to their teams. Not to mention dangerous (in a bad way) for the opposing players. I hope Smith learns to control his actions.

Way to back up your player Kenny.

It was a little reckless, but the suspension was too harsh. Fair punishment my ass.

Wait till this happens when Kronwall destroys someone by leaving his feet, then we'll see what Kenny says.

Holland is part of the Red Wings but he's also part of the league. The rules were made with the GM's. I think Holland is too grown up for "Us against Them".

Edited September 30, 2011 by P. Marlowe

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Reckless hockey is entertaining but reckless players can so easily be liabilities to their teams. Not to mention dangerous (in a bad way) for the opposing players. I hope Smith learns to control his actions.

I don't think of Smith as a reckless player.

There's other guys on our team that label can be applied to more. I already mentioned one above.

[P. Marlowe 748]

I don't think of Smith as a reckless player.

There's other guys on our team that label can be applied to more. I already mentioned one above.

I don't have an opinion whether he is or isn't. I haven't seen him play enough. I just hope he learns to control his checks better or he'll end up being a liability.

Kronwall can be reckless but I don't think he's yet been a liability. I don't think his hits are against the new rules so probably he won't become one.

Edited September 30, 2011 by P. Marlowe

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I wasn't quite sure what to think, but the Puck Daddy article on the hit puts it very eloquently:

My problem with the article is that is furthers the myth that Stevens was a headhunter or that his hits only contacted the head.

People watch a couple Youtube clips of his hits on Kariya and Lindros and act like his career was full of those. When he KO'd Kozlov, he still contacted mostly body. Even if the hits did involve the head, they're usually dead on to the body, skates on the ice and would be legal by today's rules.

In his 22 year NHL career, Stevens had maybe a handful of hits that would be suspension worthy under the current climate. In general he had a sixth sense for catching guys when they weren't paying attention, in a similar way Kronwall does now. That's still legal when you hit the body.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Shanny explainin'.

[RusDRW 155]

the hit was very unfortunate on both parts. Brendan couldnt predict what move Ben was going to make as he lined him up and Ben also made the cardinal sin on the move. When I started to play, my coach's last words as I stepped onto the ice for my first shift,"keep your head up" still ring in my ears today. Maybe with all the rule changes players are becoming less accountable for their own well being whilst oagn the ice. This is what Babs was trying to say when asked about the incident. I think Brendan will learn from this but also feel the suspension a little harsh as well. I hope the AHL boss will let him serve the suspension whilst in GR, as he'll not get called up if not.

agree. You must be aware of what happens around you. My coach (back in Russia) always said that hockey is somewhat individual and if you cannot take care of yourself in any situation you better not play this sport. I see there are a plenty of guys in NA who don't understand this imple concept. Moore is a classic example. Ben Smith shold have been aware as well. There is huge difference between Cooke's hit (as example) and Smith's one. One is intension to injury and another one is trying to play solid defense.

[wings1110 184]

I think you have your percentage wrong. If a guy hits a another player in the head with is shoulder, it is a clean hit maybe 1% of the time.

I think a lot of people are correct in assessing Ben Smith as having some responsibility here and the fact that he did move a little bit. I think that probably factored into the rationale for the suspension. Without that, you are probably looking at a really long one. Try to do your best to assume this was Cooke that threw that hit and then give me your reaction.

half of that post was sarcasm, the other half was exaggeration. and how can you get negged with a giant pic of Kenny ******* Powers!

but the NHL's harshness aside. Brendan Smith has showed that his maturity level (which used to be the biggest knock against him) is extremely high now, and that he matured a lot as a professional class player in just one year in GR. He made contact with ben smith to see if he was okay, and accepted the suspension, very good sign for a young guy. Hes accepting it like a man (regardless of oppinion of the suspension) and taking his assignment to GR, and looking at the positives! :thumbup.

Count me out.

even if we play the Sharks?

[P. Marlowe 748]

Shanny explainin'.

Looking at that video I can't see that Ben Smith's body moved enough on his last second toedrag to blame the hit on him. Brendan just missed and would've hit Ben's head in any case.

[wings1110 184]

Oh how have times have changed..it used to be the responsibility of the player to skate with his head up or you got crushed Scott Stevens style..how you can beat the s*** out of the puck, skate with your head down, do fancy toe drags, pay the price for it and the other dude gets 5 games. Like i said before I'm all for getting the cheap hits out of the game but this sport was built on speed, having your wits, keeping your head up and good clean aggression..clearly its changing.

yep, its sad indeed...

[P. Marlowe 748]

even if we play the Sharks?

Yep. I hate it when someone uses words like "all agree" and "everyone knows" without asking me first. I usually disagree anyway with people who use that kind of words to support their opinions.

Edited September 30, 2011 by P. Marlowe

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Looking at that video I can't see that Ben Smith's body moved enough on his last second toedrag to blame the hit on him. Brendan just missed and would've hit Ben's head in any case.

Agreed.

People can talk about the toe drag, but the video pretty clearly shows that move mostly only changed the position of the puck and Smith's feet. His head, speed, and body were mostly traveling the same route.

Yes, Ben should've had his head up, but that still doesn't make it legal to hit him only in the head.

People can lament the days of hard hitting being gone, but checking is about hitting the body. That's still legal. Over the years some players have just forgotten how to do it properly (or never learned) and have been getting away with flying shoulders and elbows and leaving their feet.

Edited September 30, 2011 by haroldsnepsts

[wings1110 184]

Yep. I hate it when someone uses words like "all agree" and "everyone knows" without asking me first. I usually disagree anyway with people who use that kind of words to support their opinions.

I lol'd at the without asking me part. but time will tell, I think diving is one of the very FEW things the NHL needs to look at in terms of upping enforcement.

[P. Marlowe 748]

People can talk about the toe drag, but the video pretty clearly shows that move mostly only changed the position of the puck and Smith's feet. His head, speed, and body were mostly traveling the same route.

This makes me wonder of what replay Babcock was watching. I remember on some other occasion earlier (can't remember what happened) that it seemed like he just quickly watched the replay and then went on to talk to the press.

I lol'd at the without asking me part.

Sometimes I'm not the most serious person.

Edited September 30, 2011 by P. Marlowe

[wings1110 184]

the hit was very unfortunate on both parts. Brendan couldnt predict what move Ben was going to make as he lined him up and Ben also made the cardinal sin on the move. When I started to play, my coach's last words as I stepped onto the ice for my first shift,"keep your head up" still ring in my ears today. Maybe with all the rule changes players are becoming less accountable for their own well being whilst on the ice. This is what Babs was trying to say when asked about the incident. I think Brendan will learn from this but also feel the suspension a little harsh as well. I hope the AHL boss will let him serve the suspension whilst in GR, as he'll not get called up if not.

I dont see why they dont leave him up, and just get the suspension out of the way and then send him down? i know the player thats suspended doesnt count against the cap, but does he count against the roster limit?

[MacK_Attack 108]

I dont see why they dont leave him up, and just get the suspension out of the way and then send him down? i know the player thats suspended doesnt count against the cap, but does he count against the roster limit?

Suspended players absolutely do count against the cap.

[Chonmon 1]

OK, so the movement "immediately prior too or in conjunction with" the hit has to be "significant" now... What started off as clear cut rules, all the sudden gets painted with subjectivity. I don't know how I feel about this one... Well, maybe I do!

I thought for sure they would take into consideration that Ben dipped "immediately prior to and in conjunction with" the hit. Although it is still a hit to the head, "reckless," and Ben got hurt... I swore the punishment would be lessened for this reason. Babs is right, the responsibility is ENTIRELY on the hitter.

Another note: When I compare this hit to what Wisniewski did, my stomach hurts... The only thing I can think of is if Clutterbuck was knocked out on the play (as Ben Smith was here) Wiz would have been banned 16 games. Wiz blatantly targeted the head, after the GAME WAS OVER, and has a long history of "dirty" play. Brenden hasn't even made a footprint in the league, "recklessly" hits the head of a player that should have protected himself better, and gets more than half of what Wiz got.

[P. Marlowe 748]

I dont see why they dont leave him up, and just get the suspension out of the way and then send him down? i know the player thats suspended doesnt count against the cap, but does he count against the roster limit?

Wings have all the cap space in the world but I'd like to know if a suspended player counts against the roster limit.