JT Miller Hit VS Tom Wilson Hit

[Sensinitis]

In the Miller video, observe, if you will, how Miller lowers down to make his body check. Backes had his head down.

In the Wilson video, observe how Wilson doesn't do that, he kind of propels his weight forward mid-air. Aston-Reese had his head up pretty much the whole way.

Bit of irony in the fact that both hits end up with an injury. In this sport, injuries will occur. But if guys hit like Miller, and not Wilson, I bet there would be less of them.
This idea that the league is going soft because it's calling out hits like Wilson's is madness. Hits like Miller's happen all the time, they are hard, and they make up very physical series, like if anyone has been paying attention to Jets-Preds, and to a lesser extent Vegas-SJ.

Does the "the league is going soft" crowd not see the subtle difference in the way a hit can be made, and how hits aren't actually disappearing (unlike the myth that's been spread around here)?

Click to read more...

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

In the Miller video, observe, if you will, how Miller lowers down to make his body check. Aston-Reese had his head up pretty much the whole way.

In the Wilson video, observe how Wilson doesn't do that, he kind of propels his weight forward mid-air. Backes had his head down.

Bit of irony in the fact that both hits end up with an injury. In this sport, injuries will occur. But if guys hit like Miller, and not Wilson, I bet there would be less of them.
This idea that the league is going soft because it's calling out hits like Wilson's is madness. Hits like Miller's happen all the time, they are hard, and they make up very physical series, like if anyone has been paying attention to Jets-Preds, and to a lesser extent Vegas-SJ.

Does the "the league is going soft" crowd not see the subtle difference in the way a hit can be made, and how hits aren't actually disappearing (unlike the myth that's been spread around here)?

This sport is inherently dangerous, this is a fact.
Basically the NHL has said: if you put your head down at the last minute, you're out of luck and we won't protect you (which is fine, they've been consistent at least)

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

About 5-10 years ago the NHL reached a critical crossroads in their own interpretation of the rules, at that time we saw a significant uptick in boarding calls in which the "victim" gave up his back as the perpetrator of the hit came bearing down on him. The NHL then decided to suspend the hitter more often than not and set the precedent players hold equal responsibility for the health/well being of the opposition. What we've seen grow out of that is less of an onus on players to protect themselves as the expectation is laid at the feet of the hitter. The ironic twist is that now we see more guys getting hurt because they've regressed into habits that were previously broken in youth hockey, we now see guys skating with heads down, we see players trying to frequently bail out of hits and suffer a worse outcome, and we're seeing guys put themselves in dangerous and vulnerable positions around the ice.


The 80s-90s certainly weren't "safer" but at that time there was at least this responsibility for your own well being. You stepped on the ice and you didn't operate with this sense of a safety net. Today the opposition is culpable for your health and so you see guys throwing themselves into mind-numbingly dangerous positions with zero sense of fear.

 

[Spirit of 67]

Wilson hit ZAR.
Miller hit Backes.

You have it backwards.

(Just FYI. I know you simply mixed them up)

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Yeah OP flips ZAR and Backes in his initial description.

But I agree overall in concept with the point(s) being made.

 

[DickSmehlik]

Hits like Miller's happen all the time.

Don't agree with the statement.

While I see the point you're trying to make and agree with it, I've seen similar hits like Millers get penalized.

Consistency is and will always be the issue.

 

[olli]

They were both clean.

 

[MoeManthaMustache]

Miller didn't fly 10 feet into the air after his hit, that's one difference, take it for what it's worth.

 

[Sensinitis]

Wilson hit ZAR.
Miller hit Backes.

You have it backwards.

(Just FYI. I know you simply mixed them up)

Lol yeah thanks. just edited it.

 

[Sensinitis]

Don't agree with the statement.

While I see the point you're trying to make and agree with it, I've seen similar hits like Millers get penalized.

Consistency is and will always be the issue.

I'd love an example, because I find it hard to believe.

 

[Sheppy]

I have absolutely zero issue with Millers hit.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

That hit by Miller was textbook. Gorgeous check. Sorry to see something like that end in injury, but what a clean hit.

 

[IBleedOil247]

They were both clean.

Completely agree. JT Miller's hit on Backes was a hard hit that could've been a lot worse and still a clean hit. Not much speed involved and you can tell he let up, more of a brace of impact.

Wilson's hit was a hard, high speed hit and the suspension was a result in what wasn't called the game before.

I never want to see any player injured, especially in a malicious illegal hit situation - but hockey is a contact sport and both of these hits are an unfortunate result in that

 

[olli]

Completely agree. JT Miller's hit on Backes was a hard hit that could've been a lot worse and still a clean hit. Not much speed involved and you can tell he let up, more of a brace of impact.

Wilson's hit was a hard, high speed hit and the suspension was a result in what wasn't called the game before.

I never want to see any player injured, especially in a malicious illegal hit situation - but hockey is a contact sport and both of these hits are an unfortunate result in that

Exactly.

 

[The Macho King]

Don't agree with the statement.

While I see the point you're trying to make and agree with it, I've seen similar hits like Millers get penalized.

Consistency is and will always be the issue.

Show me the suspension video, because that was 100% a clean hit and I've never seen a similar hit given supplemental discipline.

 

[Inkio]

People that still believe Wilson's hit was clean is incomprehensible at this point.

 

[PucksOnNet]

Wakey Wakey Backes!

 

[Sheppy]

Show me the suspension video, because that was 100% a clean hit and I've never seen a similar hit given supplemental discipline.

David Pastrnak got suspended for a similar hit. It was definitely worse, but it had the same type of look.

For the record, i thought Pastrnak's hit was clean, much like this one.

 

[Total Bender]

Wakey Wakey Backes!

I completely understand that Backes isn't the most popular player on here, and for good reason, but this post is garbage. Grow the f*** up.

 

[Gallagbi]

David Pastrnak got suspended for a similar hit. It was definitely worse, but it had the same type of look.

For the record, i thought Pastrnak's hit was clean, much like this one.

Pastas is higher on a player in a much worse position. He seems to just up and into Girardi.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

David Pastrnak got suspended for a similar hit. It was definitely worse, but it had the same type of look.

For the record, i thought Pastrnak's hit was clean, much like this one.

So it was similar but definitely worse? Yet you're citing it?

 

[HockeyThoughts]

Miller's hit was a thing of beauty.

Wilson getting 3 games for his hit was purely a product of his reputation, history and projecting his upwards. It should have been a 1 gamer IMO.

 

[HTFN]

All I can say is that if Aston-Reese were as big a man as Backes is, I don't think Wilson would have been suspended. Miller explodes up through the body and incidentally catches some shoulder to jaw, it looks like, but all of this is fine because frankly you're not going to move David Backes any other way, that's how you have to hit a bigger body if you don't want to get bounced like a chump.

 

[wgknestrick]

The main item of difference between the 2 hits is that Backes was not already engaged with a defender when he was hit. Backes has a responsibility of protecting himself to a certain degree (being the puck carrier) and the hit comes from straight ahead from the most likely defender in his POV. Backes was also concussed via head-head contact which is always accidental in the NHL. Miller didn't skate half the rink to get to him either.

These 2 hits couldn't be more different from an aspect of dirtiness IMO.

Ideally, I'd like to see a zero tolerance "no head contact" rule, but this is the NHL and they aren't smart enough to do that now. I'd have no problem if the Miller hit was a 2min pen, like a simple puck over glass is now. Wilson's hit should've been a 5min and a game misconduct. The NHL need to pay a $1B settlement before that will get through their CTE'd brains though. Any hit that results in a concussion should not be "part of the game". Sure, it can happen by accident or negligence, but players IMO should be penalized every time they cause one. That is the only way you are going to change the game for the better. Again, I say focus on the puck, otherwise, your intent of playing the body is always to injure. I don't expect everyone to have my POV, but I've been subjected to these types of hits while playing, and it isn't fun.

 

[Sheppy]

So it was similar but definitely worse? Yet you're citing it?

Ok, yeah. That didn't come out the way i wanted it to. I meant it was a very similar looking hit, but Pastrnak was slightly higher up on the chest, haha.