OT: Player Safety Discussion

[Bluenote13]

Good luck telling a coach who's job relies on winning that it's just "entertainment." Or tell that to a guy who's not going to see ice time unless he makes big hits.

Noted.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I honestly believe that hit is a questionable penalty in the NHL.

Terrible thing, dont get me wrong. But the Swiss player stops, turns and braces himself preparing for the check. He just got leveled off his skates. Sure, the oncoming player was a bigger guy, which factored into it Probably shouldve let up for sure, - but Ive seen that check a ton of times in the NHL and 99% of the time no one is launched like that. Unfortunately the guy who got injured wasnt strong on his skates for that second and he payed for it.

Now, that doesnt mean this video cant be related to the Richards hit, because the Swiss player goes in at almost the same angle as Richie did.

 

[ThisYearsModel]

Brian Burke says it was a hockey play. No suspension.

Sabres fans say he was faking being paralyzed.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

Had too look away till I saw it on TV this morning in line for Tim Horton's.

 

[Cmox]

This horrible! This should shut up a number of people.

 

[pld459666]

This is why the Kaleta hit was 100 times worse than the Girardi hit later in the game.

I would prefer to be a foot away from the boards and get slammed than be 5+ feet away.

This is so friggin sad.

 

[Kershaw]

Don't have the stomach to watch it. Reading that just made me squirm. I hope for a strong recovery.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

It isn't as bad a hit as people are making it out to be. The injured player, as much as i hate to say it, clearly initiates the contact and just is overmatched.

 

[Killem Dafoe]

It isn't as bad a hit as people are making it out to be. The injured player, as much as i hate to say it, clearly initiates the contact and just is overmatched.

I'm not arguing with you because it's really hard to tell from the video, but to me it really looks like he's just trying to put his arm up to create space between him and the other player. At those speeds though, I'm sure he wasn't expecting to get power shoved into the boards from that distance.

 

[The Gloaming]

The player that gave the hit actually lifted him up and threw him into the boards. I don't see how it's anyone else's fault except for the guy doing the throwing.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

I'm not arguing with you because it's really hard to tell from the video, but to me it really looks like he's just trying to put his arm up to create space between him and the other player. At those speeds though, I'm sure he wasn't expecting to get power shoved into the boards from that distance.

It looks very similar, IMO, to plays that McD, Del Zotto, etc do every game. The puck goes in the corner. They see an oncoming defender. Stop short before the boards to shrug them off and then they get hit but are able to block off the player from pursuing the puck so they can make a play.

Again, completely unfortunate and I wish him the best. I still am leaning towards it being not a dirty hit.

 

[Clowes Line]

A veteran NHL equipment manager, who requested anonymity, said that in his professional opinion the shot that hit Staal in the face would have broken a visor and the pieces might have impaled his eye.

The equipment manager watched the replay at real speed and in slow motion. He watched the Philadelphia Flyers’ Kimmo Timonen fire a shot. He watched the puck deflect off the stick blade of the Flyers’ Jakub Voracek and strike Staal in the face. He saw Staal’s horrific reaction and the blood on the ice.

He said every player should wear a visor. But he also said that visors are designed to protect players from things like errant high sticks. They are not designed to stop slapshots fired from high-tech sticks at high speed, especially when the puck hits a player straight on. They break, and when they break, they have sharp edges.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--t...hl--visor-debate--safety-socks-235739139.html

 

[Kane One]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--t...hl--visor-debate--safety-socks-235739139.html

Good thing he remained anonymous, because he would have been called out on how ridiculous that is. There's no way that shot would have shattered--or even cracked for that matter--the visor.

 

[Hockey Team]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--t...hl--visor-debate--safety-socks-235739139.html

What?

Visors don't shatter. These things aren't designed by Pejorative Slurs. If it's made out of polycarbonate (the same material you would get lenses made out of if you were getting a pair of glasses to play sports with), that material doesn't even crack. If it's not polycarbonate, it'd be some material that's designed to withstand force, and would NOT shatter into sharp pieces of it breaks.