[Suspension] Keith Aulie - 2 games

[theranfordflop]

Victim blaming is pretty common here I know, but it's pretty easy. Don't hit other players in the head. Should Stajan skate with his head down? Obviously not, but regardless of how you feel about it, the NHL has clearly stated the onus is on the hitter. So ... it's not 100% Stajan's fault, sorry.

If it was an Oilers player that got hit in this manner, you'd be fine with the suspension. Right now you'll say you wouldn't because it's easy for you to say that, but you would.

Holy... This isn't Jezebel. We're talking about hockey. In hockey, you can do absolutely nothing wrong, and still hurt somebody.

If a drunk driver swerves in to your lane in traffic, and ends up dying in the accident, do you deserve jail time? Is it "victim blaming" to say, "it was the drunk driver's own fault for putting himself in a dangerous position"?

Victim blaming... Yeesh.

Just to re-iterate, Jannik Hansen's dirty ass hit on Wingels, arm extended, total blind side, Wingels did nothing to put himself in a vulnerable position... No suspension.

Disgraceful. And honestly, if the Oilers aren't petitioning the league about this, it just proves they're not doing their jobs.

 

[Anglesmith]

ok. Clearly you've never played hockey

That's a sign of desperation, my friend.

Watch this video:

[nhl]464949[/nhl]

Just in the first part, Shanny explains and shows examples of hits where the hitter avoids the shoulder to only hit the head. He says that's illegal. It's pretty cut and dry, even if Stajan touched the puck and was legal to be hit, he would never be legal to be hit in that way.

Now, if Aulie had taken a line to hit Stajan on the shoulder, there's probably no problem here. Stajan's shoulder didn't really move a whole lot throughout the process of looking down at his feet. If anything, his shoulders moved forward to where his head was before. A shoulder check would've been a two-minute interference penalty and no further discipline.

Anyway, all this talk of Stajan needing to be more aware and keep his head up is completely ridiculous when we're basically absolving Aulie of the responsibility to even know whether the guy is a legal target of a hit at all. If you watch the hit (link below) you can clearly see that Stajan didn't receive the pass. If Stajan wasn't preparing himself for a hit, it's probably because he never once had the puck. I feel like Aulie also should keep his head up and be more aware next time.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/oilers-aulie-suspended-two-games-for-illegal-hit/

 

[theranfordflop]

That's a sign of desperation, my friend.

Watch this video:

[nhl]464949[/nhl]

Just in the first part, Shanny explains and shows examples of hits where the hitter avoids the shoulder to only hit the head. He says that's illegal. It's pretty cut and dry, even if Stajan touched the puck and was legal to be hit, he would never be legal to be hit in that way.

Now, if Aulie had taken a line to hit Stajan on the shoulder, there's probably no problem here. Stajan's shoulder didn't really move a whole lot throughout the process of looking down at his feet. If anything, his shoulders moved forward to where his head was before. A shoulder check would've been a two-minute interference penalty and no further discipline.

Anyway, all this talk of Stajan needing to be more aware and keep his head up is completely ridiculous when we're basically absolving Aulie of the responsibility to even know whether the guy is a legal target of a hit at all. If you watch the hit (link below) you can clearly see that Stajan didn't receive the pass. If Stajan wasn't preparing himself for a hit, it's probably because he never once had the puck. I feel like Aulie also should keep his head up and be more aware next time.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/oilers-aulie-suspended-two-games-for-illegal-hit/

Let's see what Shanny says:

"Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the players body, and the head was not picked as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward, or outward"

Aulie tucks his arm, crouches down, and does not extend his body upward or outward. He doesn't change his angle of approach, and does not approach from the blind side. So far, every piece of criteria for an illegal hit Shanahan has talked about, Aulie has NOT met.

Circumstances we must consider heavily for a player NOT receiving supplemental discipline, these include: point 2. whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full bodycheck unavoidable. Or point 3: Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneous with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact.

Did Stajan put himself in a vulnerable position? Indisputably. I mean... NOBODY can dispute that. Did he change his posture immediately prior to the hit? INDISPUTABLY again. He looked down at the puck between his legs like an idiot, literally half a second before the hit.

So far, Aulie meets NONE of the criteria that Shanahan lays out for an illegal hit, and Stajan meets ALL of the criteria for putting himself in a dangerous position.

So then immediately after that they show a legal hit to the head by Petro. And it's EXACTLY like Aulie's hit. Slightly from the side, other player was not aware, contact to the head, but Petro was crouched, feet planted, not extending, and had his arm tucked.

So... What exactly are you talking about?

 

[Anglesmith]

So... What exactly are you talking about?

"Picked the head as a result of ... poor angle of approach."

And again, Stajan wasn't bracing for a hit. Which is understandable, given he wasn't a legal target for a hit.

 

[theranfordflop]

"Picked the head as a result of ... poor angle of approach."

And again, Stajan wasn't bracing for a hit. Which is understandable, given he wasn't a legal target for a hit.

I mean... You can look in the video yourself. Petro's hit is from exactly the same angle, slightly to the side, NO BLINDSIDE.

They literally show a hit from the exact same angle as an example of a legal hit in that video. I mean you've pretty much proven that Aulie's hit was legal by posting that video.

Stajan was indisputably a legal target for a hit. Player in open ice, receiving a pass. It doesn't get more clear cut. He was indisputably the target for the pass, was he not?

 

[Anglesmith]

I mean... You can look in the video yourself. Petro's hit is from exactly the same angle, slightly to the side, NO BLINDSIDE.

They literally show a hit from the exact same angle as an example of a legal hit in that video. I mean you've pretty much proven that Aulie's hit was legal by posting that video.

Stajan was indisputably a legal target for a hit. Player in open ice, receiving a pass. It doesn't get more clear cut. He was indisputably the target for the pass, was he not?

Yes, but the pass missed him. Hence why the call was interference. You can't just hit every player who is the target of a pass, regardless of whether he gets the puck.

I'm really not sure what you mean in your first few paragraphs there. Whether the hit was blindside is not what I'm discussing. It's not the point at all. I'm pointing out that Aulie took an angle of approach to avoid the shoulder and, in the words of Shanny, "pick the head" of the target. The approach was from the side, not from the blindside, but that isn't the only criterion to consider.

 

[JVR]

Ridiculous decision.

 

[theranfordflop]

Yes, but the pass missed him. Hence why the call was interference. You can't just hit every player who is the target of a pass, regardless of whether he gets the puck.

An illegal hit to the head and a check on an ineligible opponent are two completely different things. The video you posted is irrelevant to whether Stajan was an eligible target. Whether or not Stajan was an eligible opponent is not why Aulie was suspended, he was suspended for "illegal check to the head". The video proves it was not an illegal check to the head.

I'm really not sure what you mean in your first few paragraphs there. Whether the hit was blindside is not what I'm discussing. It's not the point at all. I'm pointing out that Aulie took an angle of approach to avoid the shoulder and, in the words of Shanny, "pick the head" of the target.

There is no mention in the video of any "shoulder" at all is there? Can you point me to the part in the video where the shoulder is mentioned as any kind of criteria for measurement of legality? Where do you even get shoulder from exactly?

Aulie hits him in the chest, he doesn't change his angle of approach at all, and there is an example in which a legal check is thrown to the chest of an opponent from the exact same angle right in the video. The ONLY reason Stajan is hit in the head at all, is because he has put himself in that position. Again, the video clearly states that to be an important factor.

So put it all together: Aulie's angle of approach is direct and doesn't change. Throw out this shoulder nonsense, because you just made that idea up, it's not represented in the video at all. Aulie does not extend his body upward or outward.

Aulie does not deserve this suspension by any measure.

Then you see Hansen NOT get suspended for a text book blindside check. I mean... How can you support that? Put aside that you're a Calgary fan for a second. It's just unacceptable from a consistency standpoint.

 

[RipsADrive]

Does the DPS still release explanation videos like they did under Shanny?

I'm really curious to see how they justify this suspension.

 

[The Nuge]

Does the DPS still release explanation videos like they did under Shanny?

I'm really curious to see how they justify this suspension.

They did, and it's a head scratcher. They claim the head was the principal point of contact (it wasnt), and that Stajan's head doesn't move (it does)