The Hockey Tonk Man
Registered User
Must have been tough on Bettman watching a grown man cry for 7 hours
From what I have heard they didnt really give him a clear explanation.
From what I have heard they didnt really give him a clear explanation.
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.
“Choose”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.
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.Or he’s not bright enough to understand the clear explanation.
“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.
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.
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.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.
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.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.
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.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?
Not even going to read the rest of your post dude. You have thrown common sense out of the window.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 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.
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...“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.
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.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.
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.
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.
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.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.
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.