News Article: Blais suspended 2 games for hit to Toews

[Crossroad Blues]

Not sure if Rumor or true, I didn't see anything on NHL.com site
Sammy Blais To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

JANUARY 14, 2021 AT 11:35 AM CDT | BY GAVIN LEE LEAVE A COMMENT
The season is exactly one day old and the Department of Player Safety already has some work to do. The department announced today that Sammy Blais of the St. Louis Blues will have a hearing today for an illegal check to the head on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews. Blais was given a two-minute minor penalty for elbowing during the match.
Toews was forced to leave the game but did return to log more than 22 minutes for the Avalanche.

Sammy Blais To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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[Majorityof1]

Does anyone have a video? This happened before NBCSN switched over from the Chicago-TB game for me. So I missed the hit.

 

[Got One Cup]

Anyone have a video? NBC victims were stuck watching Chicago get slaughtered.

 

[Crossroad Blues]

 

[Blueston]

Shots to head have no place in game. Even if unintentional, I think league is right to discipline. Players need to learn to avoid. Too many players have had careers ended or lives altered because of head injuries.

 

[Majorityof1]

Thanks. Just found it and was coming back to post.

I have no problem if he gets a few games. He lifted up into the head, and the league absolutely should come down hard on head shots.

I don't think it is malicious. Toews was reaching into his lane and lowered his head right in Sammy's path. I don't think Blais could have easily avoided head contact. He should have tried though, instead of following through with a check. Players have to watch out for their own heads as well. You stick your head into someone's lane when you are both racing for the puck and you are going to get nailed. Its not fair to use your own head as an obstacle to prevent a player from going after the puck. Once Toews reached out for the puck like that, Blais could either give up on the puck or hit his head. He had no way to safely go after the puck even though he had the inside lane to it.

 

[Brian39]

I think this was an unintended consequence of the "hit everything that moves" style Blais plays.

But that doesn't make it not a suspension-worthy play. There wasn't a drastic last second change in the location of Toews' head and he wasn't sticking his head out to draw contact. He had his body positioned the same way well before Blais arrived. The turn of his head caused Blais to catch him more squarely in the head, but Blais absolutely would have tagged his chin without that head turn. If Blais is going to drive through the front of a body like he tried to do, he has to go lower and absolutely can't elevate through that hit. I largely agree with @Majorityof1 that Toews put himself in a vulnerable spot, but I don't think the movement of his head was as drastic as it sounds like he does.

Blais has to be smarter if he wants to keep plowing through guys in that situation. That was going to be a borderline hit at best and was almost certainly going to be at least a penalty. I have zero issue if the league decides to sit him down for a game or two.

 

[MissouriMook]

Thanks. Just found it and was coming back to post.

I have no problem if he gets a few games. He lifted up into the head, and the league absolutely should come down hard on head shots.

I don't think it is malicious. Toews was reaching into his lane and lowered his head right in Sammy's path. I don't think Blais could have easily avoided head contact. He should have tried though, instead of following through with a check. Players have to watch out for their own heads as well. You stick your head into someone's lane when you are both racing for the puck and you are going to get nailed. Its not fair to use your own head as an obstacle to prevent a player from going after the puck. Once Toews reached out for the puck like that, Blais could either give up on the puck or hit his head. He had no way to safely go after the puck even though he had the inside lane to it.

This is exactly where I am on this. I'd hate to see him get suspended only for the precedent it sets for future discipline, but he needs to recognize that you can't follow through there and not get the head, so don't do it. I just wish, as you said, that there was a way to put more emphasis on the actions of the player who got hit. Not trying to blame the victim here, but you have to learn to keep your head up in this game, and as you pointed out you can't be allowed to use your poor body positioning as a defensive technique to keep an opponent from exploiting a lane.

Anything more than 1 game would be excessive, but it wouldn't surprise me if he got more as the first hearing of the season.

 

[Mike Liut]

How do you prevent a hit that’s unintentional? It’s a contact sport.

 

[TK 421]

I have no problem with that hit, Toews should be more aware of his surroundings if he wants to play NHL hockey. If that hit was against a Blues player I wouldn't complain. To me it didn't appear from either angle that he exploded upward or targeted the head so I'd be really curious to hear how this is suspension worthy.

 

[Zamadoo]

Huh? The guy tried resting his head on Sammy's shoulder while Sammy had the puck on his stick.

 

[Frenzy31]

I would go with 2 games. I don't like head shots and the follow through is what gets me. If he had contacted with the shoulder first, I have no issue with the hit, but head was the primary area that received the hit.

In a normal season I would be good with 4 games. BUT I WANT everyone to have to deal with this.

 

[Got One Cup]

Thank you

 

[stlbluz]

Toews looked right at Blais as he was skating in & he kept his head down. Not sure that's a good idea. The 2 minute was a good call though anything over 1 game is too much. This is the NHL not a snowflake league.

 

[Chrisinroch]

Neutral observer.. Blais is trying to get position to play the puck. He does “lean in” as the collision is imminent but I don’t see how this is suspension-worthy. I’m actually surprised that DPS even staged a hearing. Maybe since Blais is a recent frequent flyer, they want to put him on a better path career-wise???

 

[Stlblue50]

How do you prevent a hit that’s unintentional? It’s a contact sport.

Exactly! I think the last replay of the video shows the best angle. You see Toews look up and see an incoming Blue at a high speed getting to the puck right after him. Yet he sticks his out and make zero attempt to spin off, brace, or protect himself. Then of course he drops straight to the ice and lays motionless on top of it.

If he got up right away and didn’t milk it then I would be very surprised if it would even be a 2 minute penalty, let alone hearing.

 

[Majorityof1]

I think this was an unintended consequence of the "hit everything that moves" style Blais plays.

But that doesn't make it not a suspension-worthy play. There wasn't a drastic last second change in the location of Toews' head and he wasn't sticking his head out to draw contact. He had his body positioned the same way well before Blais arrived. The turn of his head caused Blais to catch him more squarely in the head, but Blais absolutely would have tagged his chin without that head turn. If Blais is going to drive through the front of a body like he tried to do, he has to go lower and absolutely can't elevate through that hit. I largely agree with @Majorityof1 that Toews put himself in a vulnerable spot, but I don't think the movement of his head was as drastic as it sounds like he does.

Blais has to be smarter if he wants to keep plowing through guys in that situation. That was going to be a borderline hit at best and was almost certainly going to be at least a penalty. I have zero issue if the league decides to sit him down for a game or two.

I don't think the movement was drastic. It was just in a terrible spot. He reached out and left himself vulnerable right in Blais only path toward the puck while doing nothing to avoid contact himself. Sammy should absolutely not have driven up into the hit, as that makes the whole thing moot. But even if Samy just skated through on the trajectory he was on, he still would have tagged Toews in the head. At that point, I am not sure who would be at fault.

Sammy could have a) tried to stop his momentum guaranteeing he lost the puck, b) angled himself into the boards losing the puck and potentially hurting himself, or c) skated into Toews head and get a penalty and suspension. That is a completely unfair set of choices because they other guy decided to stick his head in his only route toward the puck. Again, Sammy chose d) raise up into the hit, so he totally deserves a suspension. I just don't like what Toews did there making himself vulnerable right in Blais' lane. Not because of the suddenness of his vulnerability but because his vulnerability cut off any lane Blais had toward the puck.

 

[joe galiba]

the complete lack of any reaction by the players on the ice tells me all I need to know about this, it should have been a no call
it is like reffing soccer and you are blocked from seeing who the ball went out of bounds on...when everyone on both teams run in the same direction for the throw-in you have your answer

 

[EastonBlues22]

Blais knew going in that the other guy wasn't in a position to give or receive a hit...you can see him looking at the other guy as they're both coming around the net and sizing things up.

In that sort of situation, Blais has a few options. He can play the puck one of two ways, either by stopping to contest it, or by trying the good ol' chip at it fly by (done by taking the outside lane closest to the boards as the defending player will always favor the inside lane). He had the time and space to do both, but did neither.

He also has the option of playing the body, again either by stopping or driving by. He chose the latter, knowing the other player wasn't in a position to receive it, and went right down the middle...a position that he HAS to know is most likely to engage the front half (as opposed to the middle) of the defending player favoring the inside lane. It's the most aggressive play physically, but also the riskiest since he knows he's taking a shot at a vulnerable part of a vulnerable player.

Maybe he gets away with that hit sometimes, but this time he didn't, and he deserves a suspension.

 

[Eldon Reid]

My only issue with this. IMO if you suspend him for last night, why was the one at the bottom not a suspension?



Play from last night (This gets a hearing)




(No hearing)

To me the first one isn't nearly as bad as the 2nd one.

 

[Crossroad Blues]

I'm not sure how to remove the "Rumor" tag, it's on NHL's page now.
Blais to have hearing for actions in Blues game

 

[Stealth JD]

he'll get a game or two for being a repeat offender, but that wasn't egregious or dirty. Unfortunate and avoidable, yes...so he'll sit because of it. I wouldn't call that head-hunting or dirty...he just went through a guy and caught him in a vulnerable position.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Blais was going to sit the next game or two anyway, so a suspension doesn’t matter to the Blues other than Blais personally having a precedent documented. I expect a suspension of some type, probably one game. It was pretty mild as head shots go, and didn’t look like it was intentionally targeting the head. But I agree with the philosophy of removing all hits from the game where the head is the principle point of contact, period.

 

[elkranio]

Two games

 

[ItsOnlytheRiver]

2 games seems right to me.