The Mike Richards Hit
- Thread starter Ironhead
- Start date
I'm with Sheik on this one. Did not look intentional, and Booth did not see him coming (he was looking back the other way), and turned his head into the hit. This is borderline, although Richardson did come up out of his crouch for the hit, but turned his shoulder away at the last second. The hit could have been harder.
didn't look dirty to me.
go have a look at Scott Stevens top 10 hits on youtube, most of them looked just like that. I don't recall many people saying his hits were dirty.
this was dirty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_AZmIriAHU
go have a look at Scott Stevens top 10 hits on youtube, most of them looked just like that. I don't recall many people saying his hits were dirty.
this was dirty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_AZmIriAHU
Players are to big and to strong in todays NHL. They generate to much force and can cause immence damage. The head shots have to iliminated. Trust me somebody is going to end up in a coma.
as far as the official RULES go, this is 100% clean.
however, the fact that the hit to the head caused a severe concussion, in todays game it should be studied to see if rule changes need to come into play.
still not the same or near as bad as CFL, NFL or college football where some players go on playing weekly with concussions and it is not discussed and rather kept hidden
however, the fact that the hit to the head caused a severe concussion, in todays game it should be studied to see if rule changes need to come into play.
still not the same or near as bad as CFL, NFL or college football where some players go on playing weekly with concussions and it is not discussed and rather kept hidden
In my opinion the hit is within the rules but dirty.
Allow me to explain.
To me a dirty hit is where a player takes advantage of the vulnerability of another, but manages to keep the contact within the rules as they are written. Penalty calls on contact of this nature could go either way from one referee to another.
An illegal hit is where a player leaves the ice and/or brings up his(the hitter) elbow and is intent on injuring the vulnerable player.
The NHL needs to amend some of the existing rules to take into account hits to the head.
Now as I stated earlier, I see Richards coming from behind and away from the focus of play and blindsiding a totally unaware player in a vulnerable position. He comes in low, bent at the knees/waist, but comes up as contact is made, and in my opinion, to intentional make contact with the head.
Should Booth have been paying closer attention ? Yes and no.
To me he took into account where the D-men were, passed the puck and figured he is OK. He did not figure on someone coming from behind after the fact.
As I stated, dirty hit and suspension worthy.
Allow me to explain.
To me a dirty hit is where a player takes advantage of the vulnerability of another, but manages to keep the contact within the rules as they are written. Penalty calls on contact of this nature could go either way from one referee to another.
An illegal hit is where a player leaves the ice and/or brings up his(the hitter) elbow and is intent on injuring the vulnerable player.
The NHL needs to amend some of the existing rules to take into account hits to the head.
Now as I stated earlier, I see Richards coming from behind and away from the focus of play and blindsiding a totally unaware player in a vulnerable position. He comes in low, bent at the knees/waist, but comes up as contact is made, and in my opinion, to intentional make contact with the head.
Should Booth have been paying closer attention ? Yes and no.
To me he took into account where the D-men were, passed the puck and figured he is OK. He did not figure on someone coming from behind after the fact.
As I stated, dirty hit and suspension worthy.
This is what I don't get about the NHL. Booth didn't have the puck. Therefore interference should have been called against Richards (I don't know if a penalty was called) - and the shot to the head was gratuitous.
As for Scott Stevens, alot of research has been done/is being done on the long term effects of concussions; times change, rules change, etc.
We are better informed today. If you look at football, head-slaps used to be legal - and head-to-head collisions used to be considered the epitome of good hitting. "Clean" hits of the 1970s are dirty hits today - and rightfully so. We know more about head injuries and the strength, size and speed of players today make such hits much more serious than before.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26348
Rule 56.1
...
The last player to touch the puck, other than the goalkeeper, shall be considered the player in possession. The player deemed in possession of the puck may be checked legally, provided the check is rendered immediately following his loss of possession.
...
56.2 Minor Penalty - A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player or goalkeeper who interferes with or impedes the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck.
If I read this correctly, unless Booth was checked "immediately" after losing possession (i.e. before another player touched the puck), the hit was interference and therefore not legal.
Booth had just passed the puck and was hit within a second of doing so. The timing was clean. It's the move to become more upright, which put the head into play, that is the question. Again, hard to judge intent at something that happens at that speed (stop watching the slow-motion, and watch it at regular speed).
As to not hitting guys who don't see it coming? Then why bother looking. If you're not looking, that would make you untouchable. Keep your head up, especially when crossing the blue line. Lots of big hits happen in that same spot as guys on the rush get tunnel vision of what's in front of them.
Ask Booth if it was a clean hit!
Now, you're probably all more knowledgeable than I am about hockey hits, but I played football at the university level, and I can tell you anything coming across the middle of the playing field/ice is subject to incredible hits.
Richards, for all intents and purposes, blindsided Booth. Richards was in a crouch, ready to explode from the knees upwards, and he did. Yes, it could have been a much more direct hit to the head, but it was bad enough. Booth was out before he hit the ground. Then, there is the secondary hit Booth being unable to protect himself from hitting the ice. Two blows to his head.
Now, we all know that there are risks involved in sports and that accidents and intentional hits happen. It's a risk the players take and they get paid quite well to take such risks. My question is where does it end.
Very recently in Hamilton, there was a minor hockey game 12 year olds. Dundas vs Stoney Creek, I believe, and one of the players blindsided his opponent with his stick. Gee, I wonder where he may have seen such things happen.
I also watched coach's corner, gotta Don Cherry is a fashion nightmare-lol. However, he mentioned the number of dirty hits is increasing and that a majority of the dirty players are from overseas. I've seen Mr. Ovechkin throw several dirty hits on people.
It is just a matter of time before one of these hits takes a life. It probably will happen in our lifetime. Can you say Bertuzzi!
Now, you're probably all more knowledgeable than I am about hockey hits, but I played football at the university level, and I can tell you anything coming across the middle of the playing field/ice is subject to incredible hits.
Richards, for all intents and purposes, blindsided Booth. Richards was in a crouch, ready to explode from the knees upwards, and he did. Yes, it could have been a much more direct hit to the head, but it was bad enough. Booth was out before he hit the ground. Then, there is the secondary hit Booth being unable to protect himself from hitting the ice. Two blows to his head.
Now, we all know that there are risks involved in sports and that accidents and intentional hits happen. It's a risk the players take and they get paid quite well to take such risks. My question is where does it end.
Very recently in Hamilton, there was a minor hockey game 12 year olds. Dundas vs Stoney Creek, I believe, and one of the players blindsided his opponent with his stick. Gee, I wonder where he may have seen such things happen.
I also watched coach's corner, gotta Don Cherry is a fashion nightmare-lol. However, he mentioned the number of dirty hits is increasing and that a majority of the dirty players are from overseas. I've seen Mr. Ovechkin throw several dirty hits on people.
It is just a matter of time before one of these hits takes a life. It probably will happen in our lifetime. Can you say Bertuzzi!
i agree with most, that the hit itself was within the "rules", but...
richards was stalking booth, look at the play developing, he clearly had the intent to do damage. richards only had to stand up straight and hit him, he clearly does not do this. he in fact, crouches down low, and uses his momentum to drive his shoulder into booth's head as he comes up out of his crouch. this is also not the first time richards has used this exact style to hit a player. it was dirty, and a complete lack of respect for a fellow player. he should have received a minimum of 5 games.
Plyrs99
richards was stalking booth, look at the play developing, he clearly had the intent to do damage. richards only had to stand up straight and hit him, he clearly does not do this. he in fact, crouches down low, and uses his momentum to drive his shoulder into booth's head as he comes up out of his crouch. this is also not the first time richards has used this exact style to hit a player. it was dirty, and a complete lack of respect for a fellow player. he should have received a minimum of 5 games.
Plyrs99
saw coach's corner this weekend as well, and have to say that get-up cherry had on was utterly ridiculous. but cherry was right, the dirty hits so far this year have been increasing. i also agree about ovie, and while he certainly plays with alot of passion, he does play dirty at times. if ovie wants to play that style, someone is going to make him eat his lunch at some point. i think one of the worst for cheap shots is jarko ruutu.
Plyrs99
Most athletes would. Everyone knows the dangers of prolonged use of steroids - yet many take them.
Pro football players all know that unless they are incredibly lucky, they will be in pain for the rest of their lives. One former player I met cautioned me never to shake a former lineman's hand firmly, as they all have severe pain in their finger and wrist joints from playing.
We are now starting to hear about the cases of severe dementia of former football players. But when you are 23, you think 55 is old. Make a 23 year old football player a Faustian deal - you will win the Super Bowl, but will die at age 53 after suffering from severe joint pain, arthritis, depression and dementia. I suspect most would take the deal.
nhl really needs to enforce the rule that, at a minimum, the player who injures another player from even a questionable hit is out for at least as long as the injured player, with no pay but the salary does not come off the team's cap space.
if we had that rule bertuzzi's career would be over.
if we had that rule bertuzzi's career would be over.
Phill-thie
This kind of dirty hit trying to injure opponents has been occuring a lot with the Flyers the last few years. I remember remarking upon the impression that out of the total number or really dirty hits in the NHL the Flyers had way more than their fair share. I don't think this is just my bias but perhaps others more consistent in following the NHL can comment upon this perceived trend.
While it might not be statistically significant it does seem very damning on the organization and/or coach that they are the cause of so many injuries.
I think there should be a cumulative penalty applied to the organization if they continue to be penalized for these deliberate attempts to injure rather than the piecemeal slaps on the wrist.
I think it's Bobby Clark's evil spirit manifesting itself...
D.
This kind of dirty hit trying to injure opponents has been occuring a lot with the Flyers the last few years. I remember remarking upon the impression that out of the total number or really dirty hits in the NHL the Flyers had way more than their fair share. I don't think this is just my bias but perhaps others more consistent in following the NHL can comment upon this perceived trend.
While it might not be statistically significant it does seem very damning on the organization and/or coach that they are the cause of so many injuries.
I think there should be a cumulative penalty applied to the organization if they continue to be penalized for these deliberate attempts to injure rather than the piecemeal slaps on the wrist.
I think it's Bobby Clark's evil spirit manifesting itself...
D.
