Tom Wilson hit on Sundqvist: Suspended 20 games

[shtorm2005]

Wilson shouldn't be putting himself in a situation where he has milliseconds to react to avoid an illegal check to the head. Sundqvist was in a very vulnerable position and at the speed Wilson went into that hit, the chances of injury were high.

Every player that shoots on the net is in the vulnerable position. Are you suggesting NHL should ban hits when player shoots?

 

[Dreakmur]

He should get hit for making a reckless play such as skating through the middle with his head down. He should not get hit in the head from his blind side. I'm completely okay with him getting clobbered by a clean hit. That's a good time to say "keep your head up." It doesn't matter where your head is when it's the principle point of contact. It's the hitter's responsibility to not hit the head, period.

And yes, it's a dirty play regardless of who's the hitter. It's a blind side hit to the head...who cares who's throwing the hit...

This was a check where Wilson’s shoulder hit both the opponent’s shoulder and head. We’ll never agree if it was more head or more shoulder, so let’s just agree it was clearly both. It’s like 1 inch from being pure shoulder to shoulder, and it’s like 1 inch from being a pure head shot.

Would you think this was a good hit if it was pure shoulder on shoulder? Or so you have a problem with hitting the guy because he wasn’t looking?

I don’t have any problem hitting a guy who isn’t looking.... since that’s your own fault.

I see the contact as borderline, since it did make some contact with the head.

 

[HanSolo]

You can’t have it both ways here.... either he had his head down and was vulnerable, or he didn’t have his head down.

I mean, I think he’s fair game regardless, but still....

Oh so if you look down once that means by the laws of human anatomy your head is down for the rest of your life.

Why allow body checking at all then? If throwing a body check is seen as more reckless than skating around looking at your own feet, then we may as well just make it illegal altogether.

You really think this guy shouldn’t get hit when he cuts across the slot with his head down? Pretend it wasn’t Tom Wilson.... you still think this is a dirty play?

Stop acting like the only option there was what Wilson did and that's the only kind of body check that exists. He absolutely could have made a different help. This appeal to absurd conclusions is so weak.

 

[LeafsLegendAkiBerg]

Every player that shoots on the net is in the vulnerable position. Are you suggesting NHL should ban hits when player shoots?

No, I'm suggesting that players shouldn't accelerate and launch into that player's head when they're in a vulnerable position. My point is that "well, he only had milliseconds to react" isn't a very good defense because he made the already choice to go full Matt Cooke and he should be smart enough to understand that the chance of injury is high. If you want to go for the big, punishing open ice hit, you better be prepared to accept the consequences if you get nothing but head. If Wilson decided not to throw that hit or approach it differently, he wouldn't be facing a suspension. It's not even like he was breaking up a scoring chance.

 

[Dreakmur]

Oh so if you look down once that means by the laws of human anatomy your head is down for the rest of your life.

Are you agreeing or disagreeing?

Did he had his head up and was vulnerable? Did he have his head down and was not vulnerable?

 

[LeafsLegendAkiBerg]

Just make all body checking illegal...,

Not everyone is like you and wants to concuss players with their head down. If that was the case, then yes, body checking should be illegal.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Why allow body checking at all then? If throwing a body check is seen as more reckless than skating around looking at your own feet, then we may as well just make it illegal altogether.

You really think this guy shouldn’t get hit when he cuts across the slot with his head down? Pretend it wasn’t Tom Wilson.... you still think this is a dirty play?

That’s a straw man.

What makes this hit illegal is that Wilson took an angle where it was a high risk hit and he didn’t hit solidly through the body.

If a guy has his head down you can still crush him, including head contact, but you’ve got to hit solidly through the body.

 

[Dreakmur]

That’s a straw man.

What makes this hit illegal is that Wilson took an angle where it was a high risk hit and he didn’t hit solidly through the body.

If a guy has his head down you can still crush him, including head contact, but you’ve got to hit solidly through the body.

That’s how I see this hit - contact with both head and body, but more body.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

That’s how I see this hit - contact with both head and body, but more body.

That is definitely not solid body contact. It’s all head and upper shoulder.

(Someone posted pics earlier in the thread that make it pretty clear)

 

[shtorm2005]

No, I'm suggesting that players shouldn't accelerate and launch into that player's head when they're in a vulnerable position. My point is that "well, he only had milliseconds to react" isn't a very good defense because he made the already choice to go full Matt Cooke and he should be smart enough to understand that the chance of injury is high. If you want to go for the big, punishing open ice hit, you better be prepared to accept the consequences if you get nothing but head. If Wilson decided not to throw that hit or approach it differently, he wouldn't be facing a suspension. It's not even like he was breaking up a scoring chance.

That rule seems logical in Wilson's case. Wilson's kinetic energy is huge because of his weight and speed. In that way he's unique. Most of the players of his weight are slower, so oppenent will have time to react, fast players are smaller so they wouldn't hit so hard to cause an injury. You want to make a rule based only on Wilson? That's not fair. And how game will look like? Guy is crossing line and preparing to a shot, back checker approches fast but then just change direction because it's not allowed to hit? I want to see that.

 

[GrandmaSlices51631]

In the preseason too, anyone suggesting fines, suspensions, etc. needs to wake up and smell the coffee. What it's going to take is some one being fed up enough and giving him a taste of his own medicine or worse. It's a damn shame but that's what I truly believe. Wilson will not stop the predatory and illegal hits until he is physically unable to do so.

The league is very soft now, not to be some nostalgia guy or ramble about the good ol' days, but this kind of shit would've never flown back in the day. Wilson can simply decline a fight and walk away unscathed with a wrinkled jersey because he can. Until someone with less sense and more anger then him loses it and smashes his skull into the ice, whether he is looking or not.

The NHL department of player safety is a joke and a fine of a few grand is a drop in the bucket for most regular guys who are sitting on millions.

 

[pbgoalie]

Why allow body checking at all then? If throwing a body check is seen as more reckless than skating around looking at your own feet, then we may as well just make it illegal altogether.

You really think this guy shouldn’t get hit when he cuts across the slot with his head down? Pretend it wasn’t Tom Wilson.... you still think this is a dirty play?

Don’t really want to get in this, but nobody is against hitting the BODY
The head? Yeah, that’s a problem for a character that seems to have a history.
Don’t hit the freaking head, don’t understand how when a player is coming at somebody, looking at him, and can’t figure out how to not hit the head.

If there is a better angle that shows differently, I’d also argue reputation alone doesn’t mean guilty fwiw

 

[IceNeophyte]

And notice how fast it was. It's easy to say he was targeting the head when you watch it at slow mo. I think u can't adjust much at that speed and while bracing yourself for a contact.

This very same argument is made every time Wilson tries to take someone's head off. Either he is the most misunderstood skater in history, or he has a learning disability.

 

[HighNote]

This was a check where Wilson’s shoulder hit both the opponent’s shoulder and head. We’ll never agree if it was more head or more shoulder, so let’s just agree it was clearly both. It’s like 1 inch from being pure shoulder to shoulder, and it’s like 1 inch from being a pure head shot.

Would you think this was a good hit if it was pure shoulder on shoulder? Or so you have a problem with hitting the guy because he wasn’t looking?

I don’t have any problem hitting a guy who isn’t looking.... since that’s your own fault.

I see the contact as borderline, since it did make some contact with the head.

It would be a good hit if it was shoulder to shoulder. I don't have a problem with someone being hit when they're not looking, I have a problem with someone hitting someone in the head when they're not looking. He could have gone shoulder to shoulder, but he didn't.

 

[Dreakmur]

That is definitely not solid body contact. It’s all head and upper shoulder.

(Someone posted pics earlier in the thread that make it pretty clear)

Well I guess we just disagree.

 

[Dreakmur]

It would be a good hit if it was shoulder to shoulder. I don't have a problem with someone being hit when they're not looking, I have a problem with someone hitting someone in the head when they're not looking. He could have gone shoulder to shoulder, but he didn't.

He did make shoulder to shoulder contact. There was also shoulder to head contact. We’re talking an inch between what you say would have been a perfect hit and what people are apparently seeing as attempted murder.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

That rule seems logical in Wilson's case. Wilson's kinetic energy is huge because of his weight and speed. In that way he's unique. Most of the players of his weight are slower, so oppenent will have time to react, fast players are smaller so they wouldn't hit so hard to cause an injury. You want to make a rule based only on Wilson? That's not fair. And how game will look like? Guy is crossing line and preparing to a shot, back checker approches fast but then just change direction because it's not allowed to hit? I want to see that.

Nope. Wilson is not unique.

Wilson is 6’4 and 215 lbs. Tall yes but hardly a freak of nature.

His teammate Ovechkin is 6’3 and 239 lbs. and fast. Somehow he’s managed not to run around braining guys because of his “greater kinetic energy.”

This is about decision making. Not physics.

 

[Dreakmur]

Don’t really want to get in this, but nobody is against hitting the BODY
The head? Yeah, that’s a problem for a character that seems to have a history.
Don’t hit the freaking head, don’t understand how when a player is coming at somebody, looking at him, and can’t figure out how to not hit the head.

Yeah, it’s not that simple. When bodies collide, they bend and twist. You can hit shoulder and the head snaps forward and makes contact. Is that head contact?

When guys see contact coming, they react differently, which is basically impossible to predict. Some guys freeze. Some guys brace. Some guys try to dodge. I have no idea how I am supposed to avoid making contact with a part of the body that I’m not really sure exactly where it’s goinf to be.

 

[GrandmaSlices51631]

Nope. Wilson is not unique.

Wilson is 6’4 and 215 lbs. Tall yes but hardly a freak of nature.

His teammate Ovechkin is 6’3 and 239 lbs. and fast. Somehow he’s managed not to run around braining guys because of his “greater kinetic energy.”

This is about decision making. Not physics.

Ovechkin is paid to score goals and Wilson is paid to disable his opponents via injury, anyone who thinks otherwise is naive or a Caps fanboy that will chime in in 3,2,1 (to rave about his offensive prowess)....

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Yeah, it’s not that simple. When bodies collide, they bend and twist. You can hit shoulder and the head snaps forward and makes contact. Is that head contact?

When guys see contact coming, they react differently, which is basically impossible to predict. Some guys freeze. Some guys brace. Some guys try to dodge. I have no idea how I am supposed to avoid making contact with a part of the body that I’m not really sure exactly where it’s goinf to be.

Which is why rule 48.1 accounts for those circumstances.

Seriously, it should be required reading for anyone posting in a thread about an illegal check to the head.

 

[Cellee]

If it is physics then Chara should have tear drops tattooed on his face.

 

[M2Beezy]

Guarantee that you wouldn't be saying this if a Canuck got hit like that.

Anyway, it is my honest opinion that the piece of scum-covered garbage known as Tom Wilson should sit for quite a while, not just because of this cheapshot, but because he's been suspended four times and hasn't learned his lesson.

Canuck or not is not the issue. The guy shouldnt have skated with his head down like that, Wilson just completed his hockey hit. Tell the Blues to get their crummy coaches to properly coach their head down players to play the game properly ffs, why is hockey now changing for the idiotic victim instead of hard fought honest smart hockey?? Wth not even saying Wilson is hard or honest, but he just tried to hit a guy in the d zone no problem

 

[LeafsLegendAkiBerg]

That rule seems logical in Wilson's case. Wilson's kinetic energy is huge because of his weight and speed. In that way he's unique. Most of the players of his weight are slower, so oppenent will have time to react, fast players are smaller so they wouldn't hit so hard to cause an injury. You want to make a rule based only on Wilson? That's not fair. And how game will look like? Guy is crossing line and preparing to a shot, back checker approches fast but then just change direction because it's not allowed to hit? I want to see that.

Yeah, I'm sure it's just his unique kinetic energy... not the fact that he came in from behind and blind sided the guy getting mostly head. Give me a break.

It seems like you're still not getting it. I'm not saying Wilson should change his course milliseconds before the hit happens, I'm saying he shouldn't make the hit period. If you're coming from behind to blindside a player with his head down and you're going fast enough that you can't control getting nothing but head, you either shouldn't be making the check or be prepared for the lengthy suspension that comes with it. Just because it's possible to throw a check doesn't mean it's a good idea.

 

[Cellee]

Why are players decked out in kevlar level padding?

p***yes

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Why allow body checking at all then? If throwing a body check is seen as more reckless than skating around looking at your own feet, then we may as well just make it illegal altogether.

You really think this guy shouldn’t get hit when he cuts across the slot with his head down? Pretend it wasn’t Tom Wilson.... you still think this is a dirty play?

It’s absolutely dirty no matter who does it.

It’s particulalry maddening because it’s Tom Wilson who has failed to accept any warning or punshiment levied prior.

You are desperately seeking any possible angle to which this doesn’t come back to Tom Wilson being a dirtbag. He f***ed up. He needs to pay a price.

If it’s another guy, who hasn’t done stupid shit before, it’s still dirty but perhaps it doesn’t produce the response. The reasons for this response are incredibly obvious, and if you actually have a brain which allows you to claim that you don’t undestrand this, you’re just purely arrogant.