NHL History In The Making…Maybe

It is unlikely that this is in response to the accusations that the latest NHL History Will be Made videos outright neglected the Montreal Canadiens, but the NHL has continued with their series of promotional videos of historic NHL playoff events by adding a recent goal from Mike Cammalleri to their arsenal.

Cammalleri knocked a puck out of mid-air past a sprawling Marc- Andre Fleury in Game #2 of the Montreal vs. Pittsburgh series to seal the victory for the Canadiens.

A tremendous display of hand-eye coordination, coupled with the victory by the underdog and the simplicity of the production made for what was likely an easy decision by the NHL to release another video.

Will This Really Be Memorable?

Sure, Cammalleri’s goal was a great display of athleticism and propelled the underdog to victory, but this is Game 2 of a second round series. The History Will Be Made commercials leading up to the playoffs depicted pivotal events in hockey history. Now it’s Game 2 of the second round?

So, If the NHL is going down this road, what other moments in this season’s playoffs are just as deserving (or more) than Cammalleri’s goal?

Is it a slippery slope for the NHL to begin depicting which events from the current playoffs will “make history”?

P.S – I wonder how long we will see the History Will Be Made Parody videos continue to pile up on YouTube?

Andy Sutton Hits Jordan Leopold

Andy Sutton caught Jordan Leopold tonight with one of the most forceful body checks that we’ve seen this season.  Leopold lay unconscious on the ice following the collision, while Sutton continued his momentum through Leopold with such force that he knocked the gate to the penalty box open.

Regardless of whether or not this hit was ‘technically’ clean, as I believe it was, it did result in a head injury.  Even with the new headshot rule, each hit resulting in a head injury will be debated with respect to the ‘intent’ to target the head. The determination of ‘intent’ will likely be the next hot topic in instances like this.

The NHL ruled that there would not be a suspension on this play.

Here is a comment on the hit from Kuklas Korner reader, Primis:

It was not a blindside hit, Sutton was coming from at about 11-o-clock, or maybe 10:30 on Leopold’s fore.  The fact that Leopold wasn’t looking that way is hardly Sutton’s fault.

The puck is there.

I believe Leopold’s head DID hit Sutton’s arm (in the bicep region), but that is more Leopold’s fault than Sutton’s.  If Leopold has his head up, that doesn’t happen.

Sutton doesn’t *have* to make that hit, but it also doesn’t make it illegal.  And Sutton’s so friggin’ huge and Leopold small enough that it’s going to end poorly for Jordan every time, no way around it.

Get your head up next time, Jordan.

What are your thoughts on this hit?

Do you think the new headshot rule will cause debates about ‘intent’ to target the head?

Video: Colton Orr Fights Milan Lucic

When the Boston Bruins visited Toronto to play the Maple Leafs, many hockey fans wondered if Colton Orr would drop the gloves with Milan Lucic. Lucic, even though there is no doubt he is a tough customer, had only fought three times this season prior to this tilt with Orr.  One has to wonder if his early season injury has played a factor in his confidence?

Orr on the other hand has racked up 18 fighting majors this season with Toronto, exhibiting the truculence that GM Brian Burke so desires.  There is no doubt after watching the video of this fight between Lucic and Orr that Orr certainly got the better of Milan in this one.

After watching the video of this fight, I still wonder why Lucic wasn’t more aggressive in throwing punches early in the fight when he had Orr’s jersey over his head. Of course, that’s easy to say when you’re sitting behind a keyboard and not tangled up with one of the NHL’s toughest customers!

Video: Ole Kristian Tollefsen Hits Lubos Bartecko

In one of the scariest moments in hockey since Clint Malarchuk’s throat was cut by a skate, Slovakia’s Lubos Bartecko lost his helmet and struck his head on the ice following a vicious elbow from Norway’s Tollefsen.  A massive amount of blood began leaking from the back of Bartecko’s head as training staff rushed onto the ice to treat him. A frightening moment in what has been a rather exciting Olympic hockey tournamanet thus far.

The good news is that Bartecko is said to be recovering and not suffering from any major injuries, but did suffer a concussion on the play and is not supposed to be in the lineup on Wednesday.

The bad news is that the barrage of checks to the head continues from NHL players this season (Tollefsen is property of the Detroit Red Wings).

I think Puck Daddy wrapped it up best here:

Tollefsen received 25 minutes in penalties, including a match penalty for “Checking to the Head and Neck Area” and a five-minute major during which Michal Handzus(notes) and Marian Gaborik(notes) scored for Slovakia. It was a reprehensible head shot from the recent Detroit Red Wings acquisition.

Jeff Carter Hits Anssi Salmela

The barrage of head injuries continues in the National Hockey League this season.  The latest victim of a headshot is New Jersey Devils forward Anssi Salmela, who was caught high by a shoulder from Philadelphia’s Jeff Carter after scoring a goal on Michael Leighton.

After watching the replays from different angles (as shown in the video below) I believe that Carter hit Salmela with a clean shoulder that appears (as of the second replay angle @ 4:30-4:31) to hit Salmela in his shoulder before following through to high and extending his elbow post contact.

This hit was obviously not elbowing, and certainly not charging as you can clearly see Carter coasting through the slot and then taking one stride as he angles toward Salmela who was leaning forward, with his head and shoulder extended, driving to the net. The hit was not extremely late – we can see Carter leaning in to hit Salmela as the shot was taken.

If the fact that Salmela being knocked unconscious is ignored, then my belief is that there should be no supplementary discipline on this play.  However, sometimes the league can punish the outcome and not the action.

Have a look at the video – particularly the slow motion replay at the 4:30 mark and drop your thoughts in the comments!

Colton Orr Fights Matt Carkner

In last night’s game Toronto’s Colton Orr and Ottawa’s Matt Carkner fought for the third time this season.  A head injury was incurred during this fight and the fight was clearly staged.
Read on to watch the video and please comment with your thoughts and opinions of this fight versus head shots from a body check.

A Staged Fight, No Doubt

This is one of those hockey fights that the NHL is supposedly trying to get rid of – the staged fight.

Here is an excerpt  on the matter from the NHL meeting last year:

“The presentation (Monday) on our stats, the history of fighting, where we are at today, injuries, was very extensive,” NHL Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell said. “We tried to categorize staged fights, fights that were responding to legal and illegal hits, a lot of things. The idea was to understand where fighting is at today and what the League has done about fighting over the years when they thought fighting had became unfair and where and if fighting belonged in the game.”

There was no doubt going into the game that these two were going to fight. Orr and Carkner had each gotten the better of the other in one of the two previous fights this season.

This time, it was Colton Orr that sent Carkner to the ice with a series of 3-4 solid right hands. The last of which had Carkner seeing stars.

Video of the Orr vs. Carkner  fight

Assessing A Head Injury

As the announcers in the video mention, it was good work by the officials and the trainers to get Carkner off of the ice and into the locker room for examination.  However, Carkner was back on the bench several minutes later and resumed regular shifts for the balance of the game.

There is no doubt that this fight resulted in at least some measure of head trauma for Carkner, and we can applaud the staff for taking precautions by getting him examined. As a non-medical professional, I cannot question the decision to let Carkner return to the game, but I do wonder what the true extend of the injury might be.

Supplemental Discipline For This “Head Shot”?

It is interesting that this fight resulted in a head injury and that these types of “staged fights” that the NHL is trying to avoid go unpunished.  It is extremely disturbing to me as a hockey fan to see bodychecks to the head, during the heat of the play (intentional or not – which is a different matter) receive lengthy suspensions, while staged fights like this one that serve no purpose to the game but results in similar injury, go unpunished.

I mean, if any fight was predetermined/staged, it was this fight between Orr and Carkner. The game was 1-0 and it was the first period. No reason to fight for either team to “shift momentum” etc. It happened right off of a faceoff where neither player was lined up directly opposite to the other. Completely unnecessary.

Don’t get me wrong, I like a good tilt just as much as the next guy, but to me an unnecessary fight causing a head injury needs more policing from the league than the currently legal hits (with shoulder/not charging) to the head that happen in the heat of the moment.

Yes, there are two willing combatants that know what they are getting themselves into. But, if the NHL really wants to deter these so-called staged fights, then they have to act accordingly. That said, I’m not so sure that it’s not just lip service from the league at this point.

What do you think?

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