NHL Questionable Hits & Suspension/Fine Discussion

[The Underboss]

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/r...pshall-should-be-suspended-but-probably-wont/

On its website, Rogers Sportsnet described the hit this way: “Florida’s Scottie Upshall gets caught with his head down as he accelerated into the arm of Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas.†Perhaps whoever wrote that really felt that way about the hit. Or perhaps this was the first test of Rogers’ new cozy relationship with the NHL and it failed miserably.

CBS Sports, which is not beholden to the NHL in any way, shape or form when it comes to being a broadcasting partner, described the hit with the following headline: “Radko Gudas levels Scottie Upshall with vicious elbow.â€

Thoughts on the hit?

Click to read more...

 

[BroadwayJay*]

Awful hit. Radko Gudas is a total piece of garbage who is constantly making questionable hits anyway, so I can't say I'm surprised.

I think I may be a bit of a softie though because I have low tolerance for head-hunting. I love a good check to the body, but a head shot is out of line.

 

[iONiONiON]

i hate Gudas. did anyone else catch the charging, from behind, head contact, elbow that he threw at Clutterbuck last year? in front of the tampa net. clutterbuck got up right away tho and was fine. idk how.

 

[PK Cronin]

Honestly, I don't see much wrong with these hits. The player put his head down and happened to have his head right around Gudas's arm. Gudas has to be able to make a hit there, but what is he supposed to do, duck to hit him in the chest? With that said, I didn't think Gudas need to stick his elbow out like he did.

 

[13th Floor]

Honestly, I don't see much wrong with these hits. The player put his head down and happened to have his head right around Gudas's arm. Gudas has to be able to make a hit there, but what is he supposed to do, duck to hit him in the chest? With that said, I didn't think Gudas need to stick his elbow out like he did.

I also lean mostly this way. Although, when they show the angle from Gudas' back, that is the piece I dislike. I would pefer that he runs right through him and blows him up, as opposed to that fly by hit. It was very Cooke-on-Savard-ish in that regard. And it seems those little clip hits seem to be where a lot of the scary head injuries really come from (especially when you add a chicken wing) and not so much when someone gets completely blown up.

The gray area with this hit is that the principal point of contact is clearly the head. But, Upshall was staring at his feet for numerous strides. So to your point, what is Gudas supposed to do? But I wouldn't be offended by suspension because of the head contact and the fact that it should probably be a black and white rule.

Edit: So, no suspension, but got a warning.
http://www.rawcharge.com/2014/10/10...pension-but-is-warned-by-department-of-player

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Just an update no suspension:

@NHLPlayerSafety: (1) Gudas hit on Upshall merited warning but not SD for the following reasons:...

 

[A Pointed Stick]

Players have gotten too soft. They should remove about half the penalties from the books to begin with and make it more like it used to be, when it was more fun to watch. They should start by removing helmets and visors first. Players will learn to get out of the way which will probably increase scoring, and we can once again tell who each player is even on a small TV. I bet all the players keep playing and don't lose an ounce of sleep over it if they did.

 

[Dutch Frost]

Well Trevor Gillies just showed future NHL athletes whats not acceptable

http://twitpic.com/ecm5cp

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Well Trevor Gillies just showed future NHL athletes whats not acceptable

http://twitpic.com/ecm5cp

Holy crow. Did he really just smash that dude's face into the ice? That guy's a ****ing animal.

 

[BPD Habs Fan]

Holy crow. Did he really just smash that dude's face into the ice? That guy's a ****ing animal.

That is just awful. If it was me he'd sit for a year to think about whether or not he really wants to play hockey.