Mike Richards Hits David Booth
October 25, 2009 by Tyler
Filed under Hockey Videos
Last night Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers leveled an unsuspecting David Booth with a shoulder to the head and knocked Booth out.
In my opinion the hit was not a charge and certainly was not elbowing. Richards squared up and led with his shoulder and followed through on a hit to Booth, who had just made a drop pass. Booth wasn’t looking and Richards made him pay. This is a prime example of the need to keep your head up and not admire your pass.
Yes, Richards hit Booth in the head with his shoulder. Now, was it intentional? I would say no. However, intentional or not, the NHL must get serious about cracking down on hits to the head for the safety of the players.
Here is the video of Mike Richards’ hit on David Booth
Update: Bill Daly has just informed the media that there will be no suspension for Mike Richards in relation to this incident.
Players have been getting hit in the head for years in the National Hockey League. This is nothing new. However, what is new is the force at which players are being impacted. Players are bigger and faster than they were ten years ago and the laws of physics still apply. The larger the mass is and the higher velocity at which it travels increases the force of the impact.
DChi606 (Erika S.) on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 10:45 am
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Why have there been so many questionable hits lately? RT @nhldigest: Mike Richards Hits David Booth [link to post]
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misschelsie (Chelsie Marie Pritz) on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 10:55 am
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No place in hockey for hits like this. RT @nhldigest Mike Richards Hits David Booth [link to post]
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KToools (Kristin T) on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 11:34 am
Twitter Comment
awful RT @nhldigest: Mike Richards Hits David Booth [link to post]
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Sooddogg (Anish Sood) on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 11:35 am
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@nhldigest You think that was a clean hit on Booth? it could go either way
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andyacr (Andy Rubenstein) on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 11:36 am
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@nhldigest no suspension
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nhldigest (Tyler @ NHLDigest) on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 2:39 pm
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@andyacr Can’t say I would have suspended him either. The hit didn’t break any existing rules. That said, the rules may need some adjustment
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andyacr (Andy Rubenstein) on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 3:40 pm
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@nhldigest I understand, the fans down here in Florida are going to be PISSED.. The Panthers have so many problems and this is worst season
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Kyle on Tue, 27th Oct 2009 3:00 pm
What is this about Booth admiring his pass? It’s not like he was gazing at the puck after he got rid of it. In fact there’s very little time once he passes the puck to the time he gets hit.
Just because it’s a legal hit, doesn’t make it a good hit. In my view, ANY shot to the head is a suspendable offense. When is the league going to get it through their heads? Players’ heads are more important than Don Cherry’s Rock ‘em Sock ‘em type stuff.
The NFL suspends anyone for hitting another player’s head. Without hesitation and without question, especially if you hit a QB. The NFL is the most violent sport in the world aside from rugby, and they can curtail headshots…and the NHL can’t…or even worse – won’t???
Colin Campbell is gutless. Gary Bettman is gutless. I see a pattern.
Headshots, whether they are intentional or not MUST be suspended. It’s the only way to get guys to think twice before knocking a guy senseless. You can still have tough, hard-hitting hockey without the headshots and killshots.
Rilie J. Morgan on Fri, 30th Oct 2009 2:25 pm
People who come across the middle of the ice with their head down and the puck on their stick need punishing and Booth got what was coming to him. Hockey has always been a violent game. Totally a clean hit.
Free Ottawa Classifieds on Mon, 2nd Nov 2009 7:32 pm
I think that head shots like that should be dealt with in a severe way when you don’t know what is coming even if you are admiring your pass. This is the kind of thing Scott Stevens loved to do to opposing players, you can’t tell me these guys are not intending to hurt anyone.
A hit like the one on David Booth, Darcy Tucker, Jonathan Taoews and others when hit like that I liken to a car accident. I have been playing hockey all my life and I still remember getting run at from the blue line from someone probably twenty years ago and never forgot it.
That kind of brutality is something that infuriates me, I think it should be eliminated from the game and should be heavily penalized and suspensions should be imposed to send a message.