News Article: Letang Suspended 1 Game

[ss53mech]

Me thinks some of you guys let that main board thread get to you. When you "defend" a player's action too long against ridiculous claims you tend to make equally ridiculous claims to combat that. In a rare moment, I actually think DoPS nailed this one. The hit was a touch late and due to he adjusted his position/path after the puck left the area. He initiates square contact through the chest but drives up through the player and makes significant contact with the head. Neither of these actions are innately malicious nor are either particularly reckless. However, MoJo likely isn't expecting that significant of contact that there nor, did he put himself in a vulnerable position directly prior to or in conjunction with the contact. Due to that, the onus is on letang to make a clean hit.

I understand that he lack of accountability for Wilson's knee, and Ovechkin's constant charging/high hits/stick work is frustrating. But that, doesn't mean that Letang doesn't deserve a game off. In a perfect world, Orpik probably gets 4-5 due to what I perceive as a the predatory nature of the hit, Wilson gets at least three for the same reason. Ovechkin, while it pains me to say this, has been cleaner than usual this series. Note, I'm not saying clean, he always initiates and follows through with his arm/stick high. He's a POS. But the league is letting him run wild, and I'm surprised he's not taking full advantage so far this series.

Also, I take in to account the stick to Stahlberg's face in round 1. Much like this event, it wasn't intentional or malicious, but it likely was avoidable. Letang is responsible for his stick, no matter the circumstance surrounding it. It wasn't a dirty play, but if I was DoPS I probably call Letang off the record and tell him he's on a short leash regarding reckless/dangerous plays. Not your fault Kris, but you've gotta be a good boy for a bit.

We can and normally have more rational/reasonable conversations here than what I see on the main/caps boards. Don't sink to their level.

 

[Dying Alive]

I don't necessarily mind the suspension (though I think a fine would have been just as appropriate) but I just hate the whining. The working the media to get calls. 8 coaches left and Trotz is the only one acting like a whiny pissbaby trying to work the league brass and the refs through the media. I know some think that's the sign of a smart coach, I think it's the sign of a man who doesn't think his team can win without trying to gain some kind of advantage. Put on your big boy pants and have some dignity, Barry.

Damn, do I hate the whining. It's why Tortorella is my all-time least favorite person associated with the NHL.

 

[Penske]

I don't necessarily mind the suspension (though I think a fine would have been just as appropriate) but I just hate the whining. The working the media to get calls. 8 coaches left and Trotz is the only one acting like a whiny pissbaby trying to work the league brass and the refs through the media. I know some think that's the sign of a smart coach, I think it's the sign of a man who doesn't think his team can win without trying to gain some kind of advantage. Put on your big boy pants and have some dignity, Barry.

Damn, do I hate the whining. It's why Tortorella is my all-time least favorite person associated with the NHL.

Not a fan of Tortorella either in terms of hockey. Outside of hockey he does a lot of good things though especially for dogs.

 

[JTG]

First and foremost - that hit last night was ****ing awesome and clean as can be. But this is why the Letang suspension is ****ing stupid. Now every hit is going to be talked about. It's a joke.

As a defenseman who played hockey at a decent level, do you feel Letang's hit was clean, and do you think Letang's hit was preventable?

I say it was clean, and really wasn't preventable. If Letang were to stop up from hitting him, he was going to take the worst of that hit and put himself in a terrible spot. The play looked to me of a defenseman that was committed to making a body check, and he was past the point of no return.

As I've said, if Letang targeted the head, or even made principle contact with the head for that matter, Johansson wouldn't have been playing the rest of the game. He would have looked like Maatta. Two guys moving at that speed, 0.6 seconds is a nonsensical number to me.

 

[Winger for Hire]

Is it really possible to change all that much in .6 (or .63) seconds? Especially when he was already committed to the hit while the puck was still on Marcus' stick

 

[GFF]

Me thinks some of you guys let that main board thread get to you. When you "defend" a player's action too long against ridiculous claims you tend to make equally ridiculous claims to combat that. In a rare moment, I actually think DoPS nailed this one. The hit was a touch late and due to he adjusted his position/path after the puck left the area. He initiates square contact through the chest but drives up through the player and makes significant contact with the head. Neither of these actions are innately malicious nor are either particularly reckless. However, MoJo likely isn't expecting that significant of contact that there nor, did he put himself in a vulnerable position directly prior to or in conjunction with the contact. Due to that, the onus is on letang to make a clean hit.

I understand that he lack of accountability for Wilson's knee, and Ovechkin's constant charging/high hits/stick work is frustrating. But that, doesn't mean that Letang doesn't deserve a game off. In a perfect world, Orpik probably gets 4-5 due to what I perceive as a the predatory nature of the hit, Wilson gets at least three for the same reason. Ovechkin, while it pains me to say this, has been cleaner than usual this series. Note, I'm not saying clean, he always initiates and follows through with his arm/stick high. He's a POS. But the league is letting him run wild, and I'm surprised he's not taking full advantage so far this series.

Also, I take in to account the stick to Stahlberg's face in round 1. Much like this event, it wasn't intentional or malicious, but it likely was avoidable. Letang is responsible for his stick, no matter the circumstance surrounding it. It wasn't a dirty play, but if I was DoPS I probably call Letang off the record and tell him he's on a short leash regarding reckless/dangerous plays. Not your fault Kris, but you've gotta be a good boy for a bit.

We can and normally have more rational/reasonable conversations here than what I see on the main/caps boards. Don't sink to their level.

My goodness. Finally some sanity!! I have been losing my mind reading some of the ridiculous claims that Letang didn't deserve to sit for that hit. To be honest I would have understood a 2 game suspension but obviously happy with 1. Hopefully Pens can make do without him but he needs to be more ready to pull out of that hit when he realises the pucks not there.

 

[UnrealMachine]

My goodness. Finally some sanity!! I have been losing my mind reading some of the ridiculous claims that Letang didn't deserve to sit for that hit. To be honest I would have understood a 2 game suspension but obviously happy with 1. Hopefully Pens can make do without him but he needs to be more ready to pull out of that hit when he realises the pucks not there.

In fairness, anytime someone begins a statement with "me thinks" I tend to ignore everything they say or stand for.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Where did DOPS say it was a legal hit? I thought they said it was late and while the head was not the principal point of contact "significant" head contact was made?

I'm not comparing the severity of the hits, I think DOPS got it right with 3 games and 1 game, I'm comparing fans saying it wasn't suspension worthy. Both hits were suspension worthy. People saying Letang got screwed here are out of line.

"Johansson is not eligible to be checked on this play.......a brief window is allowed for players who initiates a check while his opponent is in possession of the puck to legally finish the check, this was not such a case"

"Not an illegal check to the head but the combination of the lateness of the hit and significant head contact that causes this hit to rise to the level of supplemental discipline."

I see where it is said it was not an illegal check to the head, but I don't see where the DOPS says it was a legal hit. In fact, I think it is expressly said otherwise.

But since when has "significant" head contact been part of the rules? The wording in the rule, AFAIK, is "principal point of contact", which was worded that way to dismiss incidental head contact in hits like this one.

That little addendum is courtesy of the DOPS "make stuff up to justify a suspension in a heated series" sub-division. There was no more significant head contact in Letang's hit than Hickey's on Drouin, which is why I don't think either deserved anything. But Trotz' whining won the day.

 

[IcedCapp]

My goodness. Finally some sanity!! I have been losing my mind reading some of the ridiculous claims that Letang didn't deserve to sit for that hit. To be honest I would have understood a 2 game suspension but obviously happy with 1. Hopefully Pens can make do without him but he needs to be more ready to pull out of that hit when he realises the pucks not there.

I agree. DoPS made it clear that it wasn't a head shot and he didn't leave his feet, and we know that it was .03 seconds late. That's 1000% worth 1, 100% worth 2, 10% worth 3, and 1% worth 4.

When the worst thing you can say about a hit is that it was 3-one hundredths of a second late, you need to have some sanity and realize that it's definitely suspension-worthy.

 

[Zero Pucks]

I still don't understand this whole evening up ******** for the Orpik suspension. It's not like Maatta is coming back anytime soon and going to give us a big advantage. Instead we're without our top defensive pairing for an entire game, and Maatta is likely done for the season unlike Johansson.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Nothing for Boyle either.

Late hit, significant head contact... am I missing anything here?

 

[UnrealMachine]

Nothing for Boyle either.

Late hit, significant head contact... am I missing anything here?

A neck?

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Nothing for Boyle either.

Late hit, significant head contact... am I missing anything here?

No you are not missing anything here. Everyone knew that what Letang did, contact with the chest, arm down, late by a margin so small that a hummingbird's wings take longer to flap, usually would not result in anything in the playoffs.

That is why it was so controversial.

99 times out of 100 that would merely be the penalty on the ice.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The dops fell to pressure, plain and simple. Letang should have received a max fine and be done with it but they don't have the balls to do what's right and decided to do what they think would stop an all out Pens vs Isles situation.

 

[Winger for Hire]

Nothing for Boyle either.

Late hit, significant head contact... am I missing anything here?

A PR campaign

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

If it wasn't for the Caps acting like a bunch of babies that they are, Letang wouldn't have received a suspension.

 

[Greeneye]

To me he deserves one game. I also think Trotz' whining and Orpik played a role in determining it was a suspend-able hit. It was definitely borderline.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Nothing for Boyle either.

Late hit, significant head contact... am I missing anything here?

.03 seconds

 

[ss53mech]

I agree. DoPS made it clear that it wasn't a head shot and he didn't leave his feet, and we know that it was .03 seconds late. That's 1000% worth 1, 100% worth 2, 10% worth 3, and 1% worth 4.

When the worst thing you can say about a hit is that it was 3-one hundredths of a second late, you need to have some sanity and realize that it's definitely suspension-worthy.

But, that's not the worst thing you can say about it. I'm not going off the numbers. I'm going off what the play looked like. As I expected, it seems the narrative has been pre-determined and there won't be any discussion about it. If you would care to refute my analysis of the hit (which like I stated above is merely a restatement of what DoPS put out) then I'd be delighted to have that conversation.

If not, and my prior post is being willingly disqualified for attempting to lighten the mood with some goofy language such as "me thinks", I suppose I owe you gentlemen an apology and I'll just show myself out.

 

[IcedCapp]

But, that's not the worst thing you can say about it. I'm not going off the numbers. I'm going off what the play looked like. As I expected, it seems the narrative has been pre-determined and there won't be any discussion about it. If you would care to refute my analysis of the hit (which like I stated above is merely a restatement of what DoPS put out) then I'd be delighted to have that conversation.

If not, and my prior post is being willingly disqualified for attempting to lighten the mood with some goofy language such as "me thinks", I suppose I owe you gentlemen an apology and I'll just show myself out.

it's the worst that the Department of Player Safety could say about it.

 

[ss53mech]

In fairness, anytime someone begins a statement with "me thinks" I tend to ignore everything they say or stand for.

My apologies for offending you with that language. I'll do my best to refrain from such things in the future.

I would ask that you disclose to us why you have that position though.

 

[Winger for Hire]

But, that's not the worst thing you can say about it. I'm not going off the numbers. I'm going off what the play looked like. As I expected, it seems the narrative has been pre-determined and there won't be any discussion about it. If you would care to refute my analysis of the hit (which like I stated above is merely a restatement of what DoPS put out) then I'd be delighted to have that conversation.

If not, and my prior post is being willingly disqualified for attempting to lighten the mood with some goofy language such as "me thinks", I suppose I owe you gentlemen an apology and I'll just show myself out.

So you're of the thinking that any interference penalty is a suspendable offense?

 

[ss53mech]

it's the worst that the Department of Player Safety could say about it.

Maybe I'm stuck on this point, but IIRC they brought up the part that Letang, adjusted his path after the puck was released. As a player (granted not at any significant level) that is the part that sticks out to me regarding it being late. If a player did that to me, I would feel it is a late hit. Not based on elapsed time, but based on the fact that the player in question is then not hitting to affect the play, because it has moved on, but is simply hitting to hit.

I understand this happens a lot during games. I will completely concede that if he doesn't make head contact, this hit doesn't get a second look. Like I stated in my explanation, its the sum of all the factors that leads to my position of him deserving to sit for a game.

 

[ss53mech]

So you're of the thinking that any interference penalty is a suspendable offense?

No. As outlined in my first post, it's the sum of factors that makes it suspendable to me.

Take away the late(ish)ness of the hit and MoJo is probably going to be more braced for the hit and it won't be as bad.

Take away the upward drive through the hit, and there isn't head contact and this isn't even a discussion.

As I said in response to IC. It's no single factor that leads me to my position, but rather a summation of them.

 

[StaalForOne]

Johansson should have to sit tonight as well. I find it very hard to believe he played the rest of the game, but then when it became time for the hearing he was suddenly DTD.