Has Hitting become more of a negative statistic

[BlackAdam]

I'm not saying hitting is bad but players just going out trying to stat pad as much as they can.
The way I see it if you're on the ice and have the puck, there's no need to hit cause you're maintaining possession.
Players with high amount of hits are just puck chasing and are usually playing in their own zone.

Currently the top 5 leaders in hits are playing on teams that are not in a playoff spot.

Click to read more...

 

[tabness]

new nhl has the fans it wants lol

 

[Three On Zero]

No, you need these types of players, they are the ones that wear down your opponent. They have a time and a place.

Grinders to wear the players down, skilled players to take advantage of it.

 

[mphmiles]

It's not a negative statistic as much as it's a statistic that's just not really correlated at all with effectiveness. Thankfully, the idea that you have to throw hits to be a good defensive player is slowly dying. There are some really good defensive players that throw the body a lot, and also many that really don't. Ex: Slavin, Tanev, Brodin, Forsling, Toews.

 

[Grifter3511]

It's true that if you're hitting players it implies your team doesn't have the puck. But that's also the ebb and flow of hockey. Without actually looking, I'm willing to bet that the team with the best possession numbers doesn't, or barely, cracks 60% possession time. That means there's still 40% of the time when your team doesn't have the puck. That's a significant amount of time. Wearing down opponents, separating players from the puck, dumping players on their butts so they are out of the play, are all effective methods to get the puck back.

 

[Bond]

It’s kind of like blocking shots. If all the player can do is block shots then they probably aren’t that good. Hitting still has its place

 

[mightbeabird]

Maybe it doesn't have the same effect on regular season games but come playoff time you want to be able to wear down your opponent.

 

[MessierII]

Is this Dallas Eakins alternate account or something?

No hitting is not negative.

 

[Bounces R Way]

It's a very poorly recorded statistic in the first place. Not to be taken seriously, good or bad.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Only people who have never actually played hockey would ever thinking hitting a lot is a negative thing. It 100% affects the other team

 

[The Panther]

The way I see it if you're on the ice and have the puck, there's no need to hit cause you're maintaining possession.

This guy agrees with you:

"The perfect game is no hits."

But seriously, as someone said above, hitting volume isn't necessarily positive or negative, it's all contextual. Yes, the teams that have the puck the least will probably hit more, but that doesn't mean good teams going out and hitting is bad.

And when you get into a 7-gane playoff series grind, does anyone (besides Kyle Dubas, that is) really want their team to have no hitters?

 

[hirawl]

OP is on to something. Hitting is good. Hitting a lot might not be.

You hit a lot cause you don't have the puck a lot. And you don't have the puck a lot because even though you hit a lot you obviously don't do it too well since you don't have the puck a lot. And not having the puck a lot leads to losing a lot. So you're in a limbo in a limbo. A lot.

 

[Kuz]

OP is on to something. Hitting is good. Hitting a lot might not be.

You hit a lot cause you don't have the puck a lot. And you don't have the puck a lot because even though you hit a lot you obviously don't do it too well since you don't have the puck a lot. And not having the puck a lot leads to losing a lot. So you're in a limbo in a limbo. A lot.

It depends as everything. The Capitals team that won the cup relied a lot on dumping the puck and putting big hits on the defencemen picking up the puck behind the blue line. With big hits like Ovi, Wilson etc it erfares down defences during the series and they scored goals because of it since some defencemen hesitated more concerned about being hit than getting the puck.

 

[Acallabeth]

Hitting is not a negative statistic, but it's not strictly positive as well.

A bodycheck that removes an opposing player from the puck is generally beneficial, and a big hit is sure to energize your team and the crowd, but, as we've discussed several weeks ago in the 'why does the NHL have so little physicality' thread, with the NHL's speed and skill level throwing a hit is frequently not the best decision.

Taking a run at an opposing player leaves the hitter out of the play at the cost of leaving the hittee out of the play, except the hittee generally gets rid of the puck before the collision.

'Wear and tear' in a 32-team league regular season isn't very important as well. Playoffs are another story, of course.

 

[Chips]

Some players try too hard and or can’t anticipate well enough to not pull themselves out of position.


Team with large hit total sometimes didn’t have the puck as often as the reasoning.

 

[Else Ermine]

Chasing hits obviously gets you in trouble but team play style really does a lot for the opportunity to make safe ones.
The Florida Panthers hit more than anyone, the Dallas Stars are one from the bottom both this year and last. There doesn't seem to be any correlation between hits and team success when you look up and down the rear of the list either but the top team is hitting at twice the rate of the bottom.

As for individual players in the OP and how thier team ranks for hits/60 this year:
Sherwood: VAN 2nd (27.62)
Hathaway: PHI 18th (20:01)
Kastelic: BOS 3rd (26:98)
Schenn: NSH 5th (25:15)
Cuylle: NYR 8th (23:70)
Obviously they're contributing an excessive amount to the team totals but it suggests, with the exception of Hathaway, that they're on teams that systematically hit more.
On top of that you'd think if they were costing their teams by losing position their coaches wouldn't be letting them continue to the same extent.

As a side note, I watch all the Canucks games and Sherwood has been hitting hard. You'd wonder if he's totting up hits with softer plays on the body but no. It has to be taking its toll on him physically.

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

I´ve been wondering what constitutes as a hit that gets into statistics? How hard the hit must be? If you just hit another player and you are way smaller than him and the hit does basically absolutely nothing, is it considered a hit? If you push a player in a scrum with your body, is that a hit? If two player reach for the puck behind the net and push each other, are those hits?

What is a hit?

 

[ItWasJustified]

It’s kind of like blocking shots. If all the player can do is block shots then they probably aren’t that good. Hitting still has its place

Blocking shots is one of the most important skills to have. I've watched my SHL team all season and they can't block a single shot and every shot they take gets blocked. They're currently in 6th place despite winning the Championship last year with almost exactly the same roster. It's the most frustrating thing to watch when your team lets every puck through.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Just because you're hitting doesn't mean you don't have the puck, it's just some players are more physical than others.

There are teams and have been teams that don't have the puck and they're not throwing hits because that's not how their team is built.

Hitting in the playoffs, or even teams you're competing with is positive.

As much as people don't want to see players getting hurt, you're hoping to throw a legal hit that injuries your opponent, especially if you're battling with that team, or in a playoff series..

Even if you don't get hurt, if you're constantly getting the puck and getting hammered quite often, you're going to start "hearing footsteps" and making forced plays to avoid getting hit and we've all seen that happen for players to do.

Hitting is a negative in that if you're going out of position to make a hit, opening up lanes for the opposing team, then you're correct, but if you're able to throw a body check, it's a positive.

 

[Toby91ca]

Only people who have never actually played hockey would ever thinking hitting a lot is a negative thing. It 100% affects the other team

That’s not entirely true. Having a lot of hits isn’t a negative thing, but not necessarily a big positive. You can make arguments either way. Reality is, when hitting is introduced in minor hockey, the boys go crazy and try throwing hits all the time until they eventually learn you need to figure out when to go for a hit vs not. Going out of your way to make a hit often puts you out of position, etc.

As noted, there are some obvious positives as well, but needs to be balanced