I haven't posted anywhere on the Hansen-Hossa incident until now so please forgive me for adding a late $0.02 (and likely a fairly long post).
I just finished a lengthy discussion with a good friend who lives in Chicago and who is a big Hawks fan. After us each attempting to set aside our biases and re-watching the slow-mo video of the incident, here's what we've come to agree on:
Hansen's own explanation of what happened seems to be the closest thing to the truth. They are both jumping for the puck and Hossa "gets there first" (to quote Jannik) and as they're coming down Hansen "kinda lands on" Hossa. Hansen gives up on the puck, as Hossa has position, and as he's bringing his hand down, he's about to make contact with Hossa and he leaves his arm up in anticipation of the collision. He's not trying to elbow Hossa (or give him the infamous "forearm shiver"), he just leaves his arm up because the momentum of the two players is about to cause them to collide. The contact with Hossa's head is accidental.
Hansen might have been trying to put his arm into Hossa's shoulders or his back, mostly to protect himself. But, unfortunately, his forearm is too high and he contacts the back of Hossa's head. However, it's clear that very little force is behind the contact. Had Hansen been actually trying to give Hossa a "flying elbow" or the "forearm shiver" that Hawks broadcasters have popularized, there would have been much more obvious impact on Hossa. Instead, it's very light contact.
Of course, Hossa goes down and looks seriously hurt and the results look scary at first. I don't buy the argument that Hossa dives or that he's acting when he lies on the ice. First off, I've taken a fairly light tap in that part of the head while playing football and that area can cause some muscle contractions in your neck and the back of your head that feel pretty intense and can leave you feeling dazed. The sensation passes quickly but, especially for someone with concussion history, the initial feeling can be quite scary and can actually seem like a concussion (I've also had one of those). So Hossa probably felt like he was in trouble.
Also, the Hawks trainers are on the ice very quickly and you can see Hossa start to move his head and the trainers quickly force him to lie still until they can check him over and Hossa only gets up after the trainers have cleared him to move. His leaving the ice and staying out of the rest of the game seem like proper precautions and protocols, even if he was feeling fine shortly after the event.
Nothing fishy about playing the next game. It wasn't a concussion. At no point did anyone pretend there was a concussion. Just being careful and taking the necessary precautions until a concussion was ruled out.
As for the Shanny video and the attempts to peer inside Jannik's brain to magically plot his actions and motivations on a millisecond to millisecond basis--that part is pure theater and just an attempt to create a plausible justification for a suspension that wasn't indicated by the actual events (both taken on their own and in comparison to countless other plays this season and in seasons past).
A fine, however, would have been entirely appropriate as Hansen still needs to be responsible for his body and, in his usual zeal for going hard after every puck, he initiated a collision with another player who was in a vulnerable position (and contacted him in an area where he is very vulnerable due to previous injury history). Hansen made accidental contact with Hossa's head and caused a minor injury that looked pretty scary and much worse than it actually was.
Now, I don't buy into the anti-Vancouver conspiracies but I can see how a scary play involving a star player from a major US market and original six team can (and possibly should, in the grand scheme of this league) get some special consideration and that some scapegoating of a less talented player is possible. But, as far as Vancouver getting a raw deal, I think Jannik probably gets what he gets no matter what team he plays for.
Is a one game suspension to Jannik Hansen a big deal? In most ways, no. Doesn't really hurt the team. However, it gives Hansen a "history" now that might come into play if there are any further incidents in Hansen's future. In that respect, it's a shame and I hope that it doesn't change how Hansen plays the game--something I'm happy to hear that Hansen says he won't let happen.
Anyway, be it right or wrong, that's how a Canucks fan and a Blackhawks fan have come together, after attempting to set each of our mutual biases aside, to try to understand what actually happened in the Hansen-Hossa incident.
EDIT: In writing "football," I'm talking about soccer and not American football. Little bit of the old Euro coming out in me. I usually pride myself on sounding very "native speaker" in my English writing.
