Like I said, if you are going to retaliate from behind after the play, then you should have no problem if people do the same to you. That hit happens hundreds of times and just because the player got caught off guard does not mean it was cheap. Do you honestly think the league would function if that was the mentality? Again, are you saying that if a player gets hurt, then it's cheap? So injury is the criteria and not the hit itself. Hitting occurs during the play where the game is fast and reaction has to be fast. It has no place after the play and especially from behind.
Shawn Thornton atacks Brooks Orpik
- Thread starter gcostanza
- Start date
I don't think there are hundreds of head shots a game. As I said Thornton went way over the line and will no doubt pay the price. And no just because a guy gets hurt doesn't mean it was a cheap shot. Having said that the league is doing a terrible job in enforcing blows to the head, some hits are being punished and some not, doesn't seem to be much consistency at all
On the contrary it is quite possible to sustain a concussion and not be hit in the head. Think Brett Lindros and the final hit that ended his career.
Brett Lindros's career was done while still in junior hockey. That guy had so many concussions as a junior it was only a matter of time that his career would be cut short. Obviously my take on tonight's events is quite different than everybody else's in this thread so we'll just leave it at that, no sense beating a dead horse. Thornton will get what he deserves and I'm still not a Bruins fan.
It is indeed, a trial date of September 8, 2014 has been set.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...awsuit-against-todd-bertuzzi/article15073970/
Geez the lawyers are milking it. They waited until the last minute to file and even I knew that filing in Denver will result in the case being tossed.
I hope both these teams take each other out. So the Leafs have a chance. At least the Leafs won't have to worry about THornton for a while.
The hit Orpik on Eriksson was not a cheap shot. At 10 second, puck with in inches of Eriksson, he may have even touched it, he(Eriksson) certainly tried to get the puck.
At 45 seconds you see a different angle. Puck is there, Eriksson reaches for it and contact is made by Orpik at 52 seconds. Eriksson touches puck or comes very close.
At around 18 seconds Chara throws borderline blindside cheapie at Pens #9 Dupuis ... also collides with another Bruins player ... Marchand. You see it again coming at around 1 minute.
Could contribute to his(Marchand) injury in the later incident.
Thornton on Orpik ..... just ugly.
Supposed tough guy Thornton does the slew foot to get unsuspecting player down ... THEN punches the player ?
Regardless of what Orpik did Thornton needs, in the way of a suspension, a lot longer then anything that has been suggested so far in this thread. I would give him the rest of the season then he must apply to be reinstated over the summer.
I like the tough guys, but that was way too much of an over reaction. I have a very hard time getting by the slew foot to get Orpik down before punching him.
What do you think of the Neal knee? I have a hard time judging that. It can be intentional but it can also be just Neal skating by since, when skating, the knee does go forward.
Just to add to what the Oracle said. A lot of concussions are due to players hitting their head on the ice when falling after a hit. Hence concussions are not always due to being hit on the head by a player. Also, it did not help that the guy just came back from a concussion.
So do I. Cannot come out and just state one way or the other.
I see Neal even 'pull' his knee/leg away from Marchand ever so slightly.
I have a hard time believing Neal would risk a penalty and/or suspension.
Yes, I wanted to say earlier that it looked like Eriksson got concussed when his head struck the ice. I did not see Orpik make contact with Eriksson's head.
Orpik's was a borderline predatory hit. A killshot on a defenceless player. And because the puck inadvertently hit Eriksson's stick, legal. But just because it's (barely) legal doesn't make it right. Orpik plays on that thin line, like Scott Stevens, Derian Hatcher, etc. He deserves a formal warning, with the promise of suspension if he shows the same reckless disregard for his fellow players.
Neal's knee to Marchand's head was the same accidentally-on purpose move as David Steckel pulled on Sidney Crosby a couple of years ago. Believe me, no one in the hockey world is fooled by it - that was 100% intentional, even if the outcome (in the Steckel-Crosby case; we'll have to see if Marchand has any aftereffects) wasn't. He deserves 10 games, but will probably get 2-3.
Thornton crossed the line. Orpik, a top-pair defenceman, was under no obligation to fight a goon for what was determined to be a clean hit. Slew-footing a guy (extremely dangerous on its own) and punching him in the head while he's prone on the ice is a cowardly act by someone who espouses "the code". Suspension has to start at 20 games, possibly more.
(Complete aside: I wonder what would have happened if Braden Holtby had been injured by Ray Emery after trying to avoid a no reason/purpose fight with him. The NHL took the easy way out by basically claiming no harm, no foul and saying there's no rule to support suspending Razor.)
I cannot find the interview James Neal gave after the game, but he certainly implied that he did not make any attempt to not hit Bard Marchand in the head with his knee. Neal knew exactly what he was doing when he skated by Marchand.
As for the Orpik-Thornton incident, if the league really wanted to stamp this stuff out, this would be the perfect time to make a huge statement. I would suspend Thornton for 30 games, but only after Orpik comes back from his inury. Thornton should have to sit out the time frame that Orpik is out for, then start his penalty. As well, Boston should not be able to fill Thornton's spot on the roster while Orpik is out. Basically, the Bruins will be short one player on their roster until Orpik comes back.
James Neal should get 15-20 games for that knee, but i think the NHL gives him maybe only 3-5 games.
The hit Orpik put on Eriksson, it is borderline clean/dirty. Orpik does not leave his feet, and it looks like he hits Eriksson's shoulder, more than he does his head. But, as Captain Fantastic put it perfectly though, Orpik's prior history, and the fact that he hit a player in a defenseless position, make it look pretty bad. I do not think Orpik should get any games for the hit, but a fine would not be out of order.
I understand the game is fast and tough, but there is no need for the dirty crap, and the NHL should pull it's head out if it's ass on this one, and send a clear message to all teams and it's players.
As for the Orpik-Thornton incident, if the league really wanted to stamp this stuff out, this would be the perfect time to make a huge statement. I would suspend Thornton for 30 games, but only after Orpik comes back from his inury. Thornton should have to sit out the time frame that Orpik is out for, then start his penalty. As well, Boston should not be able to fill Thornton's spot on the roster while Orpik is out. Basically, the Bruins will be short one player on their roster until Orpik comes back.
James Neal should get 15-20 games for that knee, but i think the NHL gives him maybe only 3-5 games.
The hit Orpik put on Eriksson, it is borderline clean/dirty. Orpik does not leave his feet, and it looks like he hits Eriksson's shoulder, more than he does his head. But, as Captain Fantastic put it perfectly though, Orpik's prior history, and the fact that he hit a player in a defenseless position, make it look pretty bad. I do not think Orpik should get any games for the hit, but a fine would not be out of order.
I understand the game is fast and tough, but there is no need for the dirty crap, and the NHL should pull it's head out if it's ass on this one, and send a clear message to all teams and it's players.
Orpik's hit was clean, Eriksson had his head down, Thornton slew footed him to the ice because he knew he couldn't take him mano a mano.
Thornton gets 10 games, Neal gets 7. Case Closed.
Thornton gets 10 games, Neal gets 7. Case Closed.
