NHL penalties/suspensions for hits getting out of hand.

[RedLightGoesOn 81]

Just saw Pyatt's hit on Bergeron. I don't want this turning into the "drop your head to draw a penalty/suspension" league. You gotta keep your head up, but some of these hits that have resulted in penalties/suspensions are just because the player who got hit didn't keep his head up. That's one of the first lessons you learn when playing in a league that allows full on checking.

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

As soon as Bettman's love child Crosby almost got his career ended the calls have spiraled out of control.

[VicVinegar 0]

Torres suspension proves that the NHL is selective when it comes to handing out suspensions. Star players need not worry..

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Ridiculous suspension. Absolute joke that people aren't appalled by it. Put your hate for Torres aside for once.

Why would I be appalled? He keeps hitting guys in the head.

I'm fine with it. Those kind of hits where you cut across a player like Torres tried to often end badly. It's why most players don't attempt them. It's difficult to make solid body contact.

And I'm not worried about it becoming the No Hit League.

I'd rather guys figure out how to hit someone without trying to brain them. Because if there gets to be enough people out there like Torres who keep concussing players, what I'm really afraid of is that the league will make some drastic rule change that's much more detrimental to the game.

[jollymania 162]

Why would I be appalled? He keeps hitting guys in the head.

I'm fine with it. Those kind of hits where you cut across a player like Torres tried to often end badly. It's why most players don't attempt them. It's difficult to make solid body contact.

And I'm not worried about it becoming the No Hit League.

I'd rather guys figure out how to hit someone without trying to brain them. Because if there gets to be enough people out there like Torres who keep concussing players, what I'm really afraid of is that the league will make some drastic rule change that's much more detrimental to the game.

Torres went for a standard hit. There was absolutely nothing malicious with it. Stoll wasn't injured. It was a nothing play. Nothing to get up in arms about and nothing worth a suspension.

[Rhah 195]

The ridiculous thing is Stoll's head was coming up from him playing the puck with his hand (he literally almost had his head on the ice!). Perhaps they should change hand play/pass rules because it puts the player in a vulnerable position. I posted in another thread about head hits about how this is a huge issue for defensive players in the NFL because wideouts will scrunch up right before the hit and even thought you are doing a regular tackle, they scrunch up and now your hit to their chest becomes helmet on helmet contact. Its sort of bulls*** for the defensive players they can't change the instinct of their hit mid play.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

My biggest issue in hockey is if a player does something intentional outside of the game play to injure another player. I have seen far too many unpunished punches to the back of the heads, elbows to the head away from the play (conacher), weber headslams into the boards, etc that just shows that certain players intend to injure and have no disregard for other players. THIS is the stuff I want penalized - not a hit that was made with good intentions as a hockey play that was borderline. Seems like the nhl hardly reviews stuff that goes on away from the play - but I've seen some stuff these playoffs when there should have been at least a hearing for.

The NHL is splitting hairs over the slight timing of hits and if the head was "principle point of contact" or incidental etc. They break down the video to the millisecond - its just not reasonable to think a hit will look all that clean when you slow it down that much. I just think its dissecting the hockey plays to punish players and ignoring the non-hockey stuff.

Edited May 17, 2013 by dirtydangles

[SDavis35 140]

Torres went for a standard hit. There was absolutely nothing malicious with it. Stoll wasn't injured. It was a nothing play. Nothing to get up in arms about and nothing worth a suspension.

Stoll did get injured though... he did not return to the game and is reportedly missing tonight's game.

From TSN http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=423358

Brad Richardson, who played 13 playoff games during the Kings' championship run last year, is expected to take Stoll's spot in the lineup.

Los Angeles hasn't disclosed the nature of Stoll's injury or a timetable for his recovery.

Also probably the only one who sees it this way, but I think Torres may have left his feet prior to the hit; top of the shoulder looked like it was in line with the head and Torres should have had time to ease off on the hit seeing as Stoll was bent over when Torres set up for the hit. I can understand this one, Torres may have got off easy though.

[stevie for president 42]

Torres has a history and it's hard to give him the benefit of doubt, but he didn't jump, he didn't throw an elbow, he didn't take strides before the check, the shoulder was the initial point of contact, and in my opinion the head was only contacted because Stoll reached for the puck and was on his back way up which shifted the position of his head and shoulders. The only valid argument I can see against Torres is that the check was reckless, but I'd argue that Stoll was even more reckless for reaching for a puck. Bad things happen to you when you reach for the puck. The NHL is shifting blame on the checking player, and I think it's unfair because that's a hit Torres needs to make (just like Gryba needed to make that hit last round) and the hit would have been clean if Stoll stayed in the leaning forward position. I could see 1-2 for a reckless hit with incidental contact to the head given Torres' history, but a potential 6 game suspension in the playoffs for this hit is entirely too much. Just my 2 cents.

[Nev 1,085]

I was all over Torres for the Hossa hit last year, but this is ridiculous. Stoll had his head down and Torres hit him with the shoulder. If Stoll has his head up, that's a shoulder to shoulder hit.

And people wonder why Kronwall doesn't dish out as many big hits these days?

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

This is three years in a row now in the playoffs that Torres has leveled a controversial hit, all with three different teams.

[evilmrt 636]

This is three years in a row now in the playoffs that Torres has leveled a controversial hit, all with three different teams.

I have to agree with Shanny's banny video. The fact that he slides through with minimal force of impact on himself, and Stoll goes flying....um yeah. Torres is a punk thug, he should have learned by now. AHL career coming up for this guy.

[uncle ovipositor 6]

I can see this getting 1 game arguably. It was an NHL hit that ended badly, and they decided that it was a hit that shouldn't have been thrown. Not sure I agree with the basis for making decisions there, but I can understand it. 3-6 seems severe to me, however. Reputation's probably part of that, the injury is... unfortunately it seems like one of those things you just have to take if you're Torres because he's earned his rep over the vast majority of his career.

But anyone who thinks Torres was headhunting should know that the 2 are best friends off the ice. No way he was trying to decapitate him.

[jollymania 162]

Terrible call on the mule hit, not a heavy hit and hjalmarsson basically injured himself.