I think Reaves was shocked he actually made contact with an opposing player. He's a battleship going after speedboats so Nurse was somehow unaware. No intent but a game or two will suffice.
Ryan Reaves violent hit on Darnell Nurse. 5 min major + ejected
- Thread starter HockeyVirus
- Start date
I legit lol'd at this. Would certainly be a far harsher punishment for the Leafs vs. not having that plug in their line-up.
- Jan 18, 2022
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To preface: I hate dirty hits and think they ruin the game.
Players are told to forecheck and punish defenders. Reaves took speed and went to blow up the defender. Nurse was completely unaware of the SCUD missile coming his way.
Out of respect for the game and its players: Reaves should've eased up. There is not much more upside in pulverising a d-man (to the point of injury) versus blowing him up and making him hurt. The tangible difference is the targeted player might be pulled out of the game due to injury... but then so could you (the hitter), and so could other players on your team who get targeted in kind. That's why it's disrespectful. You're trying not to hurt the player but to make the player get hurt... that's beyond the bounds of a sport.
Reaves should've let up a bit when he knew he had Nurse. A split-second decision would've changed a devastating "dirty" hit into highlight reel hit anyone could be proud to have as their own.
With that said, is it a filthy hit that aimed for the head? No. It wasn't a drive-by, a slewfoot, a raised shoulder, a flying elbow, etc. Reaves drove into Nurse with maximum force while Nurse was bent over, in the danger zone by the boards, and completely unaware of his impending doom. Terrible lack of awareness from Nurse and a terrible decision to hurt another player from Reaves.
tl;dr Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Have some respect for the fellow players and don't try to destroy them.
Players are told to forecheck and punish defenders. Reaves took speed and went to blow up the defender. Nurse was completely unaware of the SCUD missile coming his way.
Out of respect for the game and its players: Reaves should've eased up. There is not much more upside in pulverising a d-man (to the point of injury) versus blowing him up and making him hurt. The tangible difference is the targeted player might be pulled out of the game due to injury... but then so could you (the hitter), and so could other players on your team who get targeted in kind. That's why it's disrespectful. You're trying not to hurt the player but to make the player get hurt... that's beyond the bounds of a sport.
Reaves should've let up a bit when he knew he had Nurse. A split-second decision would've changed a devastating "dirty" hit into highlight reel hit anyone could be proud to have as their own.
With that said, is it a filthy hit that aimed for the head? No. It wasn't a drive-by, a slewfoot, a raised shoulder, a flying elbow, etc. Reaves drove into Nurse with maximum force while Nurse was bent over, in the danger zone by the boards, and completely unaware of his impending doom. Terrible lack of awareness from Nurse and a terrible decision to hurt another player from Reaves.
tl;dr Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Have some respect for the fellow players and don't try to destroy them.
1specter
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Bouboumaster
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oilers4life5
Known ref hater
Yeah, I bet having to punch McDavid in the face a bunch of times would make Reaves think twice about throwing a dirty hit. He'd probably say to himself, "What I did was unacceptable, and I should feel shame."
And then a now also concussed McDavid would say, "I have avenged my teammate by bruising a 4th liners knuckles. Today I became a captain."
vandymeer13
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The oilers don't have anyone. The only guy in the system is josh brown and they sent him down which was dumb. Might need to look for a tough forward.
strattonius
Registered User
That whole sequence was disgusting. Hope Nurse is going to be okay.
You'd hope for at least 10 games but the NHL won't because they haven't figured out longer suspension durations might stop these hits from happening.
Boeser blindsided by Jeannot recently as well in a contract year and it may have a lasting effect the rest of Boeser's career. Meanwhile Jeannot plays 3 games later. Reminds me of this hit where Nurse could feel this the rest of his life.
Not interested in debating whether the hit was clean with anyone that wants to quote me ill dip out of that. I just wish these hits, that they've been trying to get rid of for 10+ yrs, had longer suspensions.
You'd hope for at least 10 games but the NHL won't because they haven't figured out longer suspension durations might stop these hits from happening.
Boeser blindsided by Jeannot recently as well in a contract year and it may have a lasting effect the rest of Boeser's career. Meanwhile Jeannot plays 3 games later. Reminds me of this hit where Nurse could feel this the rest of his life.
Not interested in debating whether the hit was clean with anyone that wants to quote me ill dip out of that. I just wish these hits, that they've been trying to get rid of for 10+ yrs, had longer suspensions.
MikeyMike01
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WhataKnight
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- Jan 6, 2023
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Hope Nurse is okay.
That said, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP. Forechecking isn’t illegal, and hits look more vicious when the guy getting hit is looking at the ice as opposed to his coverage.
I don’t see much more blatant malice in this hit than I did when watching Scott Stevens pick his spots, hits looking more barbaric when a guy was looking down.
Not sure what further punishment would look like, but Nurse left the entire candy bowl out; Reaves emptied it into his “trick or treat” sack. The harsh look is as much Nurse with his head down (like Lindros or Kariya) as it is Reaves’ forecheck.
That said, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP. Forechecking isn’t illegal, and hits look more vicious when the guy getting hit is looking at the ice as opposed to his coverage.
I don’t see much more blatant malice in this hit than I did when watching Scott Stevens pick his spots, hits looking more barbaric when a guy was looking down.
Not sure what further punishment would look like, but Nurse left the entire candy bowl out; Reaves emptied it into his “trick or treat” sack. The harsh look is as much Nurse with his head down (like Lindros or Kariya) as it is Reaves’ forecheck.
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dirtydanglez
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he got darcy tuckered. gotta keep that head up going around that net.
looks like the principal point of contact is the head. easy suspension. wouldnt be shocked if its 5 games.
looks like the principal point of contact is the head. easy suspension. wouldnt be shocked if its 5 games.
Wonder how much of this was due to Nurse not wearing his helmet properly. Even in that video of the hit, the strap of the helmet is loosely swinging around right before the hit. As soon as he gets hit, the helmet gets displaced, and doesn't protect him from anything. He also got cut by the visor because the helmet wasn't on properly.
NHL has rules for properly wearing the equipment, and I think they should pay more attention on tightening the strap on the helmet correctly. I've even specifically used Nurse as an example for someone who wears the helmet completely incorrectly in the past.
It will be interesting for me to see whether Nurse will be wearing his helmet with the strap properly tightened upon his return, or whether he will keep playing like this. If he gets hit again like that and the helmet actually falls off(which it easily can when the strap is so loose), he could actually die.
NHL has rules for properly wearing the equipment, and I think they should pay more attention on tightening the strap on the helmet correctly. I've even specifically used Nurse as an example for someone who wears the helmet completely incorrectly in the past.
It will be interesting for me to see whether Nurse will be wearing his helmet with the strap properly tightened upon his return, or whether he will keep playing like this. If he gets hit again like that and the helmet actually falls off(which it easily can when the strap is so loose), he could actually die.
hirawl
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- Dec 27, 2010
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You think passangers of a car shouldn't wear seatbelts? Your argument is on this level.
NHL rulebook is awfully unclear, but this is actually directly quoted from the rules:
"If the player returns to his players’ bench to be substituted for, he may only return to the ice during play with a helmet (with the chinstrap properly fastened). No player may exit the penalty bench duringplay without a helmet (with the chin strap properly fastened)."
And it mandates properly fastening the helmet's strap. But for whatever reason, it doesn't generally state that the helmet's strap needs to be properly fastened. Only within the context of returning to play from the bench or the penalty box.
Either way, assuming Nurse was sitting on the bench at some point before that, his helmet's strap should have been fastened according to the rulebook.
More important than the rulebook, it should have been fastened for the player's own personal safety.
GeeoffBrown
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Reaves is only in the league for his fighting ability, so challenging him to a fight is not a great idea
KCC
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Head up or not, he still gets mashed in the face. Just an all around stupid penalty.
Ianturnedbull
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It's hard to watch someone get hurt like that, but I don't see Reeves as being the evil person you portray.
umma gumma
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