kladorf2005
Registered User
- Apr 20, 2018
- 1,403
- 1,614
Caps fans are right. Reaves had no interest in playing hockey. He was out to get Wilson from the moment the puck dropped. And while the hit in question was relatively benign; the actions/intent of Reaves thru 35+ minutes was far from it.
The NHL should be embarrassed. Embarrassed that Reaves acted the way he did. Embarrassed that they allowed this situation to unfold to begin with. If they hand out the proper discipline when they are supposed to, then Reaves doesn't go ape shit on Wilson.
Wilson has been suspended 4 times in just over a year. Add to that a dozen or so other borderline hits that could be argued were fineable/suspendable. If the NHL had stopped giving a repeat offender the benefit of the doubt, and actually sent a message that they aren't going to stand for these late-ish and/or high hits, then we are talking about more than 4 suspensions. And we are talking about longer suspensions. And players like Reaves are less likely to have a vendetta against players like Wilson. No guarantee since it's Ryan Reaves, but certainly less likely if Wilson had served the amount of time the rest of league feels is fair.
The NHL could have prevented this. They could have saved Wilson from being concussed. They chose not to.
PS: The hit in a vacuum is not suspendable. Wilson delivered an identical hit on Marchessault in the SCF that was only a 2 minute minor. Difference is that Wilson wasn't hunting Marchessault all game long. Unfortunately the NHL doesn't have a protocol for 'hunting'. After this, I hope they consider adding that discretion to their decision making process when reviewing for possible suspensions.
The NHL should be embarrassed. Embarrassed that Reaves acted the way he did. Embarrassed that they allowed this situation to unfold to begin with. If they hand out the proper discipline when they are supposed to, then Reaves doesn't go ape shit on Wilson.
Wilson has been suspended 4 times in just over a year. Add to that a dozen or so other borderline hits that could be argued were fineable/suspendable. If the NHL had stopped giving a repeat offender the benefit of the doubt, and actually sent a message that they aren't going to stand for these late-ish and/or high hits, then we are talking about more than 4 suspensions. And we are talking about longer suspensions. And players like Reaves are less likely to have a vendetta against players like Wilson. No guarantee since it's Ryan Reaves, but certainly less likely if Wilson had served the amount of time the rest of league feels is fair.
The NHL could have prevented this. They could have saved Wilson from being concussed. They chose not to.
PS: The hit in a vacuum is not suspendable. Wilson delivered an identical hit on Marchessault in the SCF that was only a 2 minute minor. Difference is that Wilson wasn't hunting Marchessault all game long. Unfortunately the NHL doesn't have a protocol for 'hunting'. After this, I hope they consider adding that discretion to their decision making process when reviewing for possible suspensions.