Tom Wilson appeal last 7 hours, Bettman to make ruling in a week. (upd: suspension upheld)

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Must have been tough on Bettman watching a grown man cry for 7 hours

 

[Anglesmith]

From what I have heard they didnt really give him a clear explanation.

The suspension videos from his suspensions have been extremely clear. If you can choose between a body check and a head check and you choose to deliver the latter, you are breaking the rules and will face discipline.

 

[Tom Hanks]

From what I have heard they didnt really give him a clear explanation.

Or he’s not bright enough to understand the clear explanation.

 

[Huck Cheever]

Should'nt even been a suspension at all. This isn't atom house league... kiddies table is that way

 

[mouser]

The NHL exclusively selects and hires and fires arbitrators. The NHLPA has no input whatsoever. This is unlike, say, jury selection for a trial. Where's the incentives structure there for arbitrator to rule in favor of the player? Arbitrators make good money for little work, but the strings are there.

I don’t have the time to respond to all the errors in your post, so I’m simply going to pick this one out as the biggest.

The NHL and NHLPA both agree on the arbitrator, and both have the power to fire him.

 

[Carlzner]

The suspension videos from his suspensions have been extremely clear. If you can choose between a body check and a head check and you choose to deliver the latter, you are breaking the rules and will face discipline.

“Choose”

Tom “chose” to make a hit, period. He does not intend to injure people just like he does not intend to get suspended. I recently read an off-season piece on him in THN and he is aware of his reputation and is trying to balance the line between his style of play and going too far. People on here say stuff like “choose to hit the head” and it’s just ridiculous. Tom is not a scumbag that tries to injure people.

 

[Carlzner]

Or he’s not bright enough to understand the clear explanation.

Going off of interviews Tom is very well spoken, clearly a smart guy. People on here assume he’s a caveman because of his style of play.

 

[Anglesmith]

“Choose”

Tom “chose” to make a hit, period. He does not intend to injure people just like he does not intend to get suspended. I recently read an off-season piece on him in THN and he is aware of his reputation and is trying to balance the line between his style of play and going too far. People on here say stuff like “choose to hit the head” and it’s just ridiculous. Tom is not a ******* that tries to injure people.

He's not the only player in the NHL throwing hits on a regular basis. This isn't a problem for most NHL players. If it's not a choice on his part, then he's just not as smart as he seems, I suppose. If I, a complete amateur, can see exactly what he is doing wrong, and exactly what he could do on each hit to make them legal, then him or someone in the Capitals organization should be able to see it, too.

This latest incident is as clear as day. He approaches a player whom he can hit, and instead of going through him, he lands his hit on the head, which from Wilson's perspective is to the side of the guy's centre of mass. Again, if it's not a choice to target the head there, then it's simply a play to avoid impact to his own body. Either way, it's a play he's been suspended for before, so there is no excuse for not knowing he can't do that.

 

[Tom Hanks]

Going off of interviews Tom is very well spoken, clearly a smart guy. People on here assume he’s a caveman because of his style of play.

Interviews don’t really define intelligence. Being suspended 4 times in the past 105 games (regular, post, preseason games) for similar things doesn’t suggest he’s Cleary a smart guy.

 

[Carlzner]

He's not the only player in the NHL throwing hits on a regular basis. This isn't a problem for most NHL players. If it's not a choice on his part, then he's just not as smart as he seems, I suppose. If I, a complete amateur, can see exactly what he is doing wrong, and exactly what he could do on each hit to make them legal, then him or someone in the Capitals organization should be able to see it, too.

This latest incident is as clear as day. He approaches a player whom he can hit, and instead of going through him, he lands his hit on the head, which from Wilson's perspective is to the side of the guy's centre of mass. Again, if it's not a choice to target the head there, then it's simply a play to avoid impact to his own body. Either way, it's a play he's been suspended for before, so there is no excuse for not knowing he can't do that.

He’s faster than anyone throwing this much weight around by far. That’s really what it comes down to. Anyone that thinks he has the intention of injuring other players doesn’t know what they’re talking about. He’s a guy who gets a long with a lot of the league off the ice.

I’m not sure why you assume the organization doesn’t touch on it. Of course they do.

You clearly have no clue what fast paced hockey is really like if you think the “solution” is to just, like, not hit him in the head bro. Tom positions himself for the hit before Sundqvist points his noggin down at the last second. If that doesn’t happen, it’s a clean hit. Why do you think numerous pro/ex pros keep pointing this out? At this point Tom is committed to making the hit he can’t just make a split second change... again, no clue what fast paced hockey is really like.

Everyone on here sees Wilson as a guy that just wants to hurt people but it’s obvious to anyone paying attention to Tom and the organizations handling of him (99% Caps fans and probably nobody that comes in these types of threads bashing’s him) that it’s clearly a tricky issue due to Tom’s unique combination of size and speed.

The guy just had a SEVEN HOUR hearing. You think he doesn’t know what he’s talking about? That he didn’t come prepared with a well thought out argument?

 

[shtorm2005]

Interviews don’t really define intelligence. Being suspended 4 times in the past 105 games (regular, post, preseason games) for similar things doesn’t suggest he’s Cleary a smart guy.

You're not stupid if you failed to change your way of playing that took years to learn. Especially, when they just show where you shouldn't hit which is impossible to predict at 100% because opponent can change his position any time.

 

[Tom Hanks]

You're not stupid if you failed to change your way of playing that took years to learn. Especially, when they just show where you shouldn't hit which is impossible to predict at 100% because opponent can change his position any time.

In Wilson’s suspensions the opponents didn’t change their body positions which is why he gets suspended.

It is stupid to repeat the same mistakes given the consequences to his opponents brains. Was he really taught to hit the head and not the body? I doubt that. He’s a reckless player. Suspension well deserved.

 

[Anglesmith]

He’s faster than anyone throwing this much weight around by far. That’s really what it comes down to. Anyone that thinks he has the intention of injuring other players doesn’t know what they’re talking about. He’s a guy who gets a long with a lot of the league off the ice.

I’m not sure why you assume the organization doesn’t touch on it. Of course they do.

You clearly have no clue what fast paced hockey is really like if you think the “solution” is to just, like, not hit him in the head bro. Tom positions himself for the hit before Sundqvist points his noggin down at the last second. If that doesn’t happen, it’s a clean hit. Why do you think numerous pro/ex pros keep pointing this out? At this point Tom is committed to making the hit he can’t just make a split second change... again, no clue what fast paced hockey is really like.

Everyone on here sees Wilson as a guy that just wants to hurt people but it’s obvious to anyone paying attention to Tom and the organizations handling of him (99% Caps fans and probably nobody that comes in these types of threads bashing’s him) that it’s clearly a tricky issue due to Tom’s unique combination of size and speed.

The guy just had a SEVEN HOUR hearing. You think he doesn’t know what he’s talking about? That he didn’t come prepared with a well thought out argument?

Nope. As the video clearly shows, neither Sundqvist's head nor the centre of his torso change position at all in the approach to the hit. It's actually kind of eery, almost like he's on a stabilizer.

What I think is that Tom Wilson has taught himself growing up to exact the maximum force on his opponent, and you get the most bang for your buck if you hit an opponent in the head. Players can train themselves to not get their elbows up while making a hit. They can train themselves not to use their sticks as weapons. There is no excuse for not being able to learn not to aim for the head.

And if Wilson's excuse really is what you think: that poor Tom just has the game move too fast for him to realize what he's doing, then he's not going to be allowed to continue playing. It's not up to everyone else to just deal with the fact that he keeps hitting guys the wrong way, by accident or on purpose.

Tom Wilson has the ability to bring a lot of excitement to the game with the way he hits. That hit on Sundqvist could have been a great example. He read the play well, he timed his approach well, and if he'd actually delivered a legal body check, it would have been on every highlight reel around, because it would be an exciting play. We all want that out of Tom Wilson as neutral observers. No one wants him to stop hitting. But given he's mastered the art of keeping his elbow tucked and staying on his feet while hitting, no, I don't agree that it's too much to ask that he learn to hit through the body of his opponent.

 

[Chimpradamus]

Not to mention, the hit happened in a pre-season game, against a rookie. Wilson had nothing to prove in the game, he was guaranteed a spot in the WSH lineup. Not to mention his unprecedented record in getting suspended for exactly these kind of hits. There's not much for Wilson to appeal here. A dumb repeat offender that refuses to learn. Not only that, he had no remorse afterwards, he did the opposite and defended the hit.

I repeat, this was his fourth suspension and he defended the hit. During the pre-season! I mean, come on. If anything, his suspension should've been prolonged.

 

[Carlzner]

What I think is that Tom Wilson has taught himself growing up to exact the maximum force on his opponent, and you get the most bang for your buck if you hit an opponent in the head.

Not even going to read the rest of your post dude. You have thrown common sense out of the window.

 

[shtorm2005]

Not to mention, the hit happened in a pre-season game, against a rookie. Wilson had nothing to prove in the game, he was guaranteed a spot in the WSH lineup.

You didn't watch the game so you don't know what was context. He was heavily hit just prior his revenge. Add here that Caps Top4 defenseman got concussion from Blues player couple of days before. All that easily explains why this "poor" rookie was needed to be heavily lifted, just not in the head which is Wilson fault.

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

“Choose”

Tom “chose” to make a hit, period. He does not intend to injure people just like he does not intend to get suspended. I recently read an off-season piece on him in THN and he is aware of his reputation and is trying to balance the line between his style of play and going too far. People on here say stuff like “choose to hit the head” and it’s just ridiculous. Tom is not a ******* that tries to injure people.

no, he very much is choosing to throw bad hits. Hence hes the first ever player to be suspended this many times in this little of time...

 

[maacoshark]

He's not the only player in the NHL throwing hits on a regular basis. This isn't a problem for most NHL players. If it's not a choice on his part, then he's just not as smart as he seems, I suppose. If I, a complete amateur, can see exactly what he is doing wrong, and exactly what he could do on each hit to make them legal, then him or someone in the Capitals organization should be able to see it, too.

This latest incident is as clear as day. He approaches a player whom he can hit, and instead of going through him, he lands his hit on the head, which from Wilson's perspective is to the side of the guy's centre of mass. Again, if it's not a choice to target the head there, then it's simply a play to avoid impact to his own body. Either way, it's a play he's been suspended for before, so there is no excuse for not knowing he can't do that.

People seem to think every Tom Wilson hit is an illegal hit. That just isnt true. Here is a stat for the people that think otherwise. During the regular season last year Wilson was credited with 250 hits and not a single one was considered a bad hit.

 

[justonetime]

You didn't watch the game so you don't know what was context. He was heavily hit just prior his revenge. Add here that Caps Top4 defenseman got concussion from Blues player couple of days before. All that easily explains why this "poor" rookie was needed to be heavily lifted, just not in the head which is Wilson fault.

It's funny that you say the hit was retaliation like that makes it okay. It's not okay anymore to retaliate and cause brain damage. That's why he was (properly) suspended a long time.

 

[Syrinx]

Any reduction of a suspension should be probationary. If the offender screws up again in three years, the probationary reduction time is added on to the next suspension.

With that said and with the forthcoming head injury lawsuits that the NHL will be facing, I don't think Wilson's suspension is getting reduced.

 

[Syrinx]

People seem to think every Tom Wilson hit is an illegal hit. That just isnt true. Here is a stat for the people that think otherwise. During the regular season last year Wilson was credited with 250 hits and not a single one was considered a bad hit.

Where did anyone say that?

 

[shtorm2005]

It's funny that you say the hit was retaliation like that makes it okay. It's not okay anymore to retaliate and cause brain damage. That's why he was (properly) suspended a long time.

Retaliation hits happen at least couple of times per game. There are very few players who can easily forgive hit on them. Usually, when team starts to play physical and throw hits left and right, other team replies.

 

[Crease]

Suspensions are unpaid so there is substantial money on the line. Also, the process is highly regulated both by the collective bargaining agreement and by labor laws. A court could overturn a decision if it finds that due process wasn't afforded or the ultimate decision arbitrary.

 

[TooManyHumans]

Until all these threads about him and how he can't help but hit people in the head, I never realized that Tom Wilson was the only big and fast player in the NHL.

 

[stepdad gaary]

People seem to think every Tom Wilson hit is an illegal hit. That just isnt true. Here is a stat for the people that think otherwise. During the regular season last year Wilson was credited with 250 hits and not a single one was considered a bad hit.

so he knows what a clean hit is? good keep doing those ones and cut out the bad ones