Trouba MASSIVE hit on Meier

[Sidney the Kidney]

Legal. Not clean.

And shouldn't be legal.

This.

Funny enough, HF hates Matt Cooke's headshots. But at the time, the vast majority of them were still "legal" by the standards the league had at the time.

It's almost like maybe the league should re-define what "legal" is and not just stick with what was "legal" back in the day.

 

[Kupo]

I agree with what you say but i think the last part of your post is more because of the internet and social media culture. It gives people a platform for complaining and opinions, those complaints and opinions draw others in, sides are taken. Every hit now is put under a microscope and the thread is basically a “is it clean or not?” and it devolves from there. I think mostly people don’t like seeing others get a potential brain injury but that will always be a well known risk in any contact sport

Trouba’s played over 700 career games in the NHL. There’s about 15 “questionable” BIG hits that he’s delivered. There are some I flat out didn’t like. There are some that were clean. And there were some that were really borderline.

Let’s assume 1/2 those hits were kinda “dirty”. All this bitching and whining about a player who’ll throw a borderline hit 1%~ of the games he plays?!

This is some straight up nonsense. These are the same kind of fans who want the watch 3v3 hockey with no physicality, strength, masculinity and possibly even facial hair. They should stop watching hockey instead of whining about clean hits.

 

[PAZ]

It's hockey and hits are a part of the game.

If people don't like these types of hits then any further rule changes will essentially outlaw open-ice hitting. Meier has a responsibility to keep his head up in that situation and this is taught from a young age for a reason.

This is the equivalent of a Scott Steven's hit in the 90s and the exact same response people would use back then.

Technically legal, as Meier is responsible for keeping his head up, but the ownest is on Trouba for making sure the head isn't the principle point of contact.

Should be a 1-game suspension to discourage these type of hits.

 

[Bizz]

Seriously, the whole aftermath was bizarre. No reaction from any Devils players on the ice or the bench, and Ruff didn’t seem to care either.

They were only up by 2 in a Game 7. It sucks but they did the proper thing by not retaliating.

The worst part about this hit was you can't even fault Meier for it. Motte forced him into Trouba.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

This is the equivalent of a Scott Steven's hit in the 90s and the exact same response people would use back then.

Technically legal, as Meier is responsible for keeping his head up, but the ownest is on Trouba for making sure the head isn't the principle point of contact.

Should be a 1-game suspension to discourage these type of hits.

Then why not skate with your head down through center ice in the playoffs and if anyone hits you they miss the next game? Players often pay a penalty for putting themselves in a bad position, whether it’s a goal against or a big hit. If you had a chance to deliver a big hit to one of the other team’s best players, would you not take it? Meier knew the risks of crossing the blue line with his head down. Maybe some players are more gentlemanly, some aren’t and the latter will try to catch someone with their head down. It’s always been like that

 

[Eternal Leaf]

This is the equivalent of a Scott Steven's hit in the 90s and the exact same response people would use back then.

Technically legal, as Meier is responsible for keeping his head up, but the ownest is on Trouba for making sure the head isn't the principle point of contact.

Should be a 1-game suspension to discourage these type of hits.

Ideally yes, but hockey is too fast.

A player can bend at the last second and suddenly his head becomes the principal point of contact. The reason NHL rules are not that strict is that it would completely remove open-ice hitting from the game.

Players don't have enough time to think about hitting only the body from front on. There are so many factors including a player's height.

Blindside hits are bad because the player is in a vulnerable state and can't defend themselves. But the way Meier was hit here is completely his fault. Whether Trouba is hitting to separate him from the puck or to instill fear shouldn't matter. It's a fair hit.

 

[mouser]

The hit was “clean” by the rule book, but that hit is as predatory as they come. The puck wasn’t anywhere near Meier at the tume, Trouba’s only goal was driving through his face.

Meier played the puck 0.1 to 0.2 seconds before Trouba checked him.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

Trouba plays with intent to injure... but man, you really do have to keep your head up in that spot.

 

[mouser]

Seven pages and not one mention of a charge? Strange.

Very clearly wasn’t a Charging penalty.

Trouba didn’t take multiple strides into the hit and didn’t travel an extended distance into the hit.

 

[pth2]

Legal. Not clean.

And shouldn't be legal.

Yup. Legal, but shouldn't be.
Rule change needed. This kind of hit will cause concussions and brain damage, and there just isn't room for that in the game anymore.

 

[Straight Fire]

I was rather shocked at the commentating while that was live. No one wanted to say it was a dangerous illegal hit? Sure, bad on Meier etc. But this isn't Scott Stevens era hockey, hasn't been for a long time. You have to be mindful of your opponent, you can't make contact - particularly principle contact - with the head.

Dirty hit plain as day.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Yup. Legal, but shouldn't be.
Rule change needed. This kind of hit will cause concussions and brain damage, and there just isn't room for that in the game anymore.

How would you change the rule?

 

[Gregor Samsa]

The only way to remove the “keep your head up” hit is to remove open ice hitting. That would fundamentally change the game and be a massive mistake

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

They were only up by 2 in a Game 7. It sucks but they did the proper thing by not retaliating.

The worst part about this hit was you can't even fault Meier for it. Motte forced him into Trouba.

I’m not saying they should’ve retaliated/dropped the gloves with Trouba, but there wasn’t a reaction of ANY kind. No one even seemed upset that their teammate was knocked out on the ice by a questionable hit. Very bizarre.

I was rather shocked at the commentating while that was live. No one wanted to say it was a dangerous illegal hit? Sure, bad on Meier etc. But this isn't Scott Stevens era hockey, hasn't been for a long time. You have to be mindful of your opponent, you can't make contact - particularly principle contact - with the head.

Dirty hit plain as day.

Yeah the commentary was strange as well. Brought the “rules analyst” in who of course was useless, then they pretty much moved on.

 

[pth2]

How would you change the rule?

I'll be honest : I don't know. I just know that to grow the game, this kind of hit needs to be taken out of it.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

The only way to remove the “keep your head up” hit is to remove open ice hitting. That would fundamentally change the game and be a massive mistake

It could be a year, it could be 10, but it's only a matter of time until this happens. Technology will likely never be able to mitigate the chance of concussion or similar injury, and there will be a point at which the risk of injury and liability will no longer be worth the perceived benefit of this type of hitting.

 

[Straight Fire]

Not sure what you experts and the commentating experts are talking about. The no means no era of hockey has been here for a long time now. If you're going to check a guy into the boards shoulder to shoulder and in the last split second he turns and gives you his numbers because he's an idiot or wants you to take a penalty at sure risk of injury its still a penalty. It's no different with head contact checks. The expectation is on the checker to be aware and let up every single time otherwise it's a penalty. It's like being in the heat of the moment and you hear no you stop and move along, break up later if it was that effed up in your books. Intent and follow through is another matter for hockey safety to figure out when checking is the issue. I don't think I'm wrong here. Player safety ought to fine Kreider heavily. And that's not negating Meier's stupidity either.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I'll be honest : I don't know. I just know that to grow the game, this kind of hit needs to be taken out of it.

NFL is more gladiatorial, brutal and has more head injuries. Millions watch the games

 

[TriFF51]

Meier played the puck 0.1 to 0.2 seconds before Trouba checked him.

So you're saying he didn't have the puck when contact was made!

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

NFL is more gladiatorial, brutal and has more head injuries. Millions watch the games

Millions do watch, but the number of kids and high schoolers playing the sport has been consistently on the decline due to health and safety concerns. Smaller pool of players to push to the higher levels eventually affects the end product and probably also draws less people into being interested in watching the sport over time.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Millions do watch, but the number of kids and high schoolers playing the sport has been consistently on the decline due to health and safety concerns. Smaller pool of players to push to the higher levels eventually affects the end product and probably also draws less people into being interested in watching the sport over time.

A lot of it would fixed if they just taught kids to tackle properly. There was a trend for a good 20 years of training kids to lead with their helmets to try to force fumbles leading to a lot more head injuries.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Millions do watch, but the number of kids and high schoolers playing the sport has been consistently on the decline due to health and safety concerns. Smaller pool of players to push to the higher levels eventually affects the end product and probably also draws less people into being interested in watching the sport over time.

NFL is doing fine. There is elite talent entering the league every draft. It is better than ever. The NFL’s revenue, TV deals, player contracts, etc are astronomical compared to the NHL.

 

[mouser]

So you're saying he didn't have the puck when contact was made!

Meier was carrying the puck and last touched it at most 0.2 seconds before the hit from Trouba. Likely closer to 0.1 seconds.

Whatever timing, Meier is fully eligible to be checked in that window.

 

[TriFF51]

Meier was carrying the puck and last touched it at most 0.2 seconds before the hit from Trouba. Likely closer to 0.1 seconds.

Whatever timing, Meier is fully eligible to be checked in that window.

Absolutely...was just kidding, shocked that guy said the puck was nowhere near.

 

[NoName]

That is one of those massive open-ice hits I used to love seeing in games 20 years ago... before I knew anything about CTE. As impressive as it is, they need to change the rules because these young men are getting permanent brain damage from hits like this.