Head shot is a head shot...pfft, this more of a hockey play BS...Kadri admitting it was premeditated during an interview didn't help his case...would have gotten 1 or 2 games without the admission...Kadri reacted to Marner getting elbowed...most teammates would have done what Kadri did...Wilson's hit was malicious...he was skating at full-force with an intent to hurt somebody, and he did...he did the same thing to Wennberg in the first round.
Exactly... watching these heavier teams play eg. Winnipeg,Nashville,Bos, heck even Tampa this series... you see these gray area hits, and sometimes the ref misses them or sees the fallen player get back up - and play resumes.
If astonReese gets back up and was ok to play there probably wouldnt have been a 3 game suspension. Maybe a 1 game and a hearing.
So many hits and close calls in the playoffs... and how can you not differentiate a 3 game for wilsons actions and 3 games for Kadris.
The results were different & the cause was different.
One guy was sticking up for his teammate.
The other was head hunting from 50 ft away.
Im not defending dangerous plays in hockey, for the sake of the Leafs.
Im just pointing out another glaring incompetent double standard in the officiating which caused us to lose our Center for 3 games in the playoffs, when everyone else gets 1 game only for arguably more egregious foul hits.
Here is finally another 3 game suspendee in wilson, and if that merits a 3 game suspension, then Kadris hit was a 1 game.
Im glad they are stopping these kinds of plays as much as they can, but man, you cant help but to feel the NHL when adjudicating the Kadri hit had some extra bit of Malice and sadism to Toronto especislly when Marchand goes elbowing people nonstop.