Post-Game Talk: Capitals @ Bruins 7pm

[Ovechkins Wodka]

7 games is ouch. Just when we got the full team back

 

[RandyHolt]

If players leave themselves in defenseless positions they are asking to be hit.

Seven games f*** the NHL they more need to educate players how to protect themselves more than tell players not to hit anyone.

I like the old days when a dman didnt want to get hit, he would just crosscheck right in the chops

 

[Empty Goal Net]

The suspension coulda been longer, shoulda been shorter (or not at all). Haven't seen mention of an appeal and unsure if it would do any good.

I don't expect consistency from the league but maybe Lavi and BMac have an appropriate response. Looking at the next 7 games ... Devs and Sabres are the weakest of the bunch - if Willie weren't out they would be trap games - but 3 v Flyers and 1 v the Aisles (the other v the Rags) could make this a tough haul for the "skill" guys.

I hope the msgs from BMac to the league cite the play that led to this suspension any time a Cap gets injured from a clean or questionable hit.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

It’s BS but like I said, the NHL is scared to death of any perceived inaction on head trauma. For years they ignored it and even joked about it. (See Colin Campbell.)

They know that a 100 billion dollar lawsuit is coming their way some day.

So Wilson gets to be made an example of.

 

[Corby78]

This is wrong and there honestly is no point writing more. It’s just wrong

 

[tenken00]

It’s BS but like I said, the NHL is scared to death of any perceived inaction on head trauma. For years they ignored it and even joked about it. (See Colin Campbell.)

They know that a 100 billion dollar lawsuit is coming their way some day.

So Wilson gets to be made an example of.

That's understandable, and the league should put it in writing so that something so unfortunate as this doesn't ever happen again. No body checking another player if they are next to the boards. Done.

 

[g00n]

Blood for the Blood God

 

[trick9]

Kucherov on Nutivaara was far worse as he caught all head and that was retaliation on a game that was over. 1 game for him.

This is ridiculous. Seravalli thought this isn't a suspension because he didn't hit his head so they used a rule that's never used before.

Wilson should appeal, again.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

#freewilly!

 

[max21]

f***, this sucks.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Hopefully the guys use this for motivation for the rest of the season. Such bullshit

 

[Midnight Judges]

If players leave themselves in defenseless positions they are asking to be hit.

Seven games f*** the NHL they more need to educate players how to protect themselves more than tell players not to hit anyone.

I like the old days when a dman didnt want to get hit, he would just crosscheck right in the chops

Dude, how many players has Tom Wilson given a concussion to? 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10? I lost count.

Whatever it is, it's too many.

The NHL doesn't have a choice here.

 

[Mathews28]

Dude, how many players has Tom Wilson given a concussion to? 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10? I lost count.

Whatever it is, it's too many.

The NHL doesn't have a choice here.

agree. Only thing debatable was the length of the suspension given the focus on head shots and the player’s history.

it’s hardly worth arguing anymore. 80% of NHL fans on the main boards disagree with the cap’s fans take on this.

We see what we see through the lens of our fandom. It’s just the way it is, league wide. Is suspect if a Bruin did that to a Capital dman for the most part the views would be reciprocal to this situation and only a small % of fans from the teams involved would see it objectively.

Hope Carlo is ok, and Wilson wakes up a bit here.

 

[RandyHolt]

Meant to post this earlier. Tinner Jr can throw em pretty good surprising exactly zero long time caps fans.

 

[Corby78]

Dude, how many players has Tom Wilson given a concussion to? 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10? I lost count.

Whatever it is, it's too many.

The NHL doesn't have a choice here.

So we’re punishing guys who hurt somebody with a legal NHL play? Got it, I’ll remember that next time TJ gets a concussion and it’s deemed “just a hockey play.”

 

[max21]

We’ll be fine without Wilson for 7 games, we did fine without the Russians for those 4 games. The team needs to use this as motivation, Wilson is a huge part of our team. We’re still physical without him, luckily we have this dude that’s 10 foot tall

 

[g00n]

So we’re punishing guys who hurt somebody with a legal NHL play? Got it, I’ll remember that next time TJ gets a concussion and it’s deemed “just a hockey play.”

Has Carlo's "injury" been disclosed yet? How can they factor it into the suspension if we don't know what it is?

 

[Eirikrautha]

So we’re punishing guys who hurt somebody with a legal NHL play? Got it, I’ll remember that next time TJ gets a concussion and it’s deemed “just a hockey play.”

Remember, when you disagree, it's because you are biased. When they disagree, it's because they are logical...

 

[Eirikrautha]

80% of NHL fans on the main boards disagree with the cap’s fans take on this.

One Hundred Authors Against Einstein was published in 1931. When asked to comment on this denunciation of relativity by so many scientists, Einstein replied that to defeat relativity one did not need the word of 100 scientists, just one fact.

 

[Empty Goal Net]

If an NHL team finds an NFL linebacker (or lineman) who can skate, and teaches him how to body check an opponent at full force, and such an opponent suffers an injury due to the force of a legal check (puck possessed, principal impact not to the head, &tc.) by the new guy - a hit designed to separate puck from player, a legitimate hockey play - does the league suspend the new guy simply due to the after-effects of the hit?

And is a player now in a relatively safe zone and protected from hard hits from an opponent coming at him from anywhere not along the boards if he's next to the boards?

I get the league's concern about head trauma ... btw, RIP Mark Pavelich ... but if the Wilson suspension is indicative of a new norm, is there a reason why the officiating cannot be equitable, and see that all cheap shots eventually result in punishment (looking at many including you, Crosby)? Not to mention the surge in tacit interference maneuvers a la Bergeron. Let's let the skaters skate!

 

[Midnight Judges]

it’s hardly worth arguing anymore. 80% of NHL fans on the main boards disagree with the cap’s fans take on this.

I am a Capitals fan.

 

[Midnight Judges]

One Hundred Authors Against Einstein was published in 1931. When asked to comment on this denunciation of relativity by so many scientists, Einstein replied that to defeat relativity one did not need the word of 100 scientists, just one fact.

Dude we aren't the Einsteins here. We're the homers.

 

[Midnight Judges]

So we’re punishing guys who hurt somebody with a legal NHL play? Got it, I’ll remember that next time TJ gets a concussion and it’s deemed “just a hockey play.”

No doubt Capitals fans from the DC area can lawyer up a defense as well as any fanbase. Probably better. If your objective is to find some detail about the rules to find a way to claim that Tom Wilson can go around giving opposing players concussions with an alarmingly high degree of frequency - obviously you can do that.

Tom Wilson has concussed way too many people. That is a fact. Can you name a player that has concussed as many people as Tom Wilson? Can you name a player who has concussed even half as many? Let's put the numbers together (I don't have time today but I'll do a tally if nobody else will).

The rules are there to protect people's brains. Tom Wilson is serially damaging opposing player's brains. It cannot stand. Even if you think this is a legal hit (it's not), you still should acknowledge that the pattern is unsustainable.

 

[Mathews28]

I am a Capitals fan.

Gotcha. I should qualify my statement with “most” or “many” as not all within a fandom think alike. I’ve found myself at odds many times with what a good chunk of my teams fan bases thought in a topic.

 

[Ridley Simon]

No doubt Capitals fans from the DC area can lawyer up a defense as well as any fanbase. Probably better. If your objective is to find some detail about the rules to find a way to claim that Tom Wilson can go around giving opposing players concussions with an alarmingly high degree of frequency - obviously you can do that.

Tom Wilson has concussed way too many people. That is a fact. Can you name a player that has concussed as many people as Tom Wilson? Can you name a player who has concussed even half as many? Let's put the numbers together (I don't have time today but I'll do a tally if nobody else will).

The rules are there to protect people's brains. Tom Wilson is serially damaging opposing player's brains. It cannot stand. Even if you think this is a legal hit (it's not), you still should acknowledge that the pattern is unsustainable.

Hold on man. Let’s not sit back and deride your brethren. That’s useless, and categorically false.

Most of us have taken issue with at least half of his “concussion creating” hits. Don’t pretend otherwise. Not agreeing with this one doesn’t mean that we all always take the players side here.

I also need you to slow your roll on comparing Wilson’s track record with other players. That’s a very flawed premise. If you want to compare Wilson’s track record, then compare him to others “Wilson’s” (players who are 6’4” and 225lbs that are faster than probably 90% of all NHL hockey players, regardless of size). If you want to tally his negatives, then also tally his positives. Find us other players that have the same skill set (so...other unicorns).

you won’t be able to. So don’t try and make it apples to apples. As it’s not.

the other aspect to this is that the league seems to make up the rules for him, as they go along. Which what I will say 90% of us defending him don’t like. It IS unfair. Simply because he can do more damage doing exactly what every other play can do (hit people), is more of an issue to me than some predatory mindset that people seem to think Wilson has. The rules are seemingly changing “BECAUSE” the NHL doesn’t know what to do with this unicorn.

I don’t expect you to agree here, but I also don’t expect you to negatively categorize most of your fellow Caps fans. It’s BS.