John Moore May Not Be Around For A While

((HT: CBC/NHL))

For this...


The HQ gives PK Subban credit for steering Dale Weise back to the bench since he, probably, couldn't even remember what day of the week it was after the shot to the head...

But John Moore's Dory Funk, Junior impression should get him, at least, a 2-game sit...

What say you...???

Brent Seabrook Should Expect A Phone Call

((HT: Kukla's Corner))

David Backes got dropped and was not all together with his faculties after this shot by Seabrook


It earned Seabrook an ejection as the two teams headed to overtime...
Again...

Seabrook looks like he stayed down on the ice and did not intentionally leave his feet, but the league will look at the forearm and elbow making contact with Backes' head...

Think, maybe, 2 games...

Nothing Like Crawling After An Opponent For A Fight

((HT: WCIU/AHL/Eye On Hockey, Peters))

Rockford lost to Chicago 6-0 in the American Hockey League over the weekend...
Here's the long version of the highlights...
((HT: wolfkeeper.org))


You noticed Rockford's Bobby Shea took out the Wolves Ty Rattie on the ice and Rattie had to leave the game...???

Something went in Shea's synapses as he was escorted off the ice and he went after Rattie again...

Here's the after effects of the stuff on the ice...


Shea has been suspended eight games by the AHL for fighting off the playing surface and for the elbow he gave in the fight on the ice that gave Rattie his injuries.

ClubberSpeak: The Kadri Files

((HT: Jim Lang Blog))

It's Thursday, and he's prolific...

And it's all based on this...
((HT: NHL on TSN))


In the third period of Wednesday night’s loss to the Wild Leafs forward Nazem Kadri was given a match penalty and kicked out of the game after he hit Mikael Granlund.

Which raises the question; what happened to hitting in hockey?

Now I am not talking about “Matt Cooke” type cheap shot elbows to the head. I am talking about good, hard bodychecks.

There is no doubt it was a hard hit by Kadri; but a hit worthy of a match penalty? Not a chance.

Kadri’s elbow was down and his stick was down and he made contact with his shoulder. I see dozens of hits every week in the NHL that are worse than that and they don’t result in a match penalty.

Now earlier in the game Kadri collided with Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom in the crease and Backstrom had to leave the game with a concussion. Kadri was given a interference penalty on the play. So you are left to wonder if the match penalty for the hit on Granlund was a make-up call for not given him a harsher penalty for running into Backstrom.

Hockey is still a contact sport. Hitting is still a part of the NHL. I agree with the league-wide initiative to remove blatant head shots from the game. There is no place for that in the modern NHL. But the hit Kadri laid on Granlund is the kind of thing that has been in the game forever and I hope it never goes away.

I can only imagine Scott Stevens watching a tape of that hit and laughing his ass off when he heard that it was worthy of a match penalty.

The bigger question for players is the reality that refs around the league will interpret what is a hit worthy of a match penalty far differently than the next guy. So the hit that is fine on Tuesday night in Edmonton might result in you getting kicked out of the game Friday night in Chicago.

Now there comes word that Kadri is facing a hearing this afternoon at 1:00PM ET for running over Backstrom, and not the hit on Granlund.

I am fine with that. Much like quarterbacks in the NFL, the NHL has to do whatever it can to protect goalies. But if that is indeed the case why did Kadri receive only a two minute minor for running into him? And you wonder why players get confused as to what is a suspendable offence and what isn’t? Brian Gionta was never suspended for taking out James Reimer. In this case there seems little chance Kadri won’t receive some kind of suspension for his hit on Backstrom.

Hence the confusion by players and Coaches as what is worthy of a suspension and what isn’t.

The bottom line is that the Leafs will likely be with-out Kadri for at least one game and maybe more on a team already razor thin at centre. The timing is awful as the Leafs are in Buffalo Friday night for the first of a home-and-home with Ted Nolan and the new-look Sabres.

Jay McClement led all Leafs forwards Wednesday night with 23:37 of ice time. His previous high this year was the 21:33 he logged in the Leafs loss to Columbus back on October 25th. McClement better have a good pre-game nap Friday because is sure to log some serious ice -time this weekend.

Lost in the Kadri ejection and pending suspension is the fact that David Clarkson has all of one assist in the eight games he has played since coming off of his suspension. With all of their injuries and the Kadri situation the Leafs desperately need Clarkson to break out of his funk and start producing.

DEVELOPING: John Scott Gets 7

((HT: Sportsnet))

The Buffalo Sabres now have another suspension on their hands...

John Scott gets seven games in addition to the 10 games that Patrick Kaleta got for his extra-curricular activity...

Scott got seven for his extending an elbow and a head shot on the Boston Bruins Loui Eriksson...

Here's Doug Maclean and Hazel Mae discussing...

Just to add to the Sabres issues...
Why not...???

HockeyCentral Discusses John Scott

((HT: Sportsnet))

Here's the first salvo in the John Scott shenanigans...

Brad Fay, Doug Maclean, and FOSG Billy Jaffe try to figure out where the league and the NHLPA "should" go next...

The only question is now: Does Scott get the book thrown at him...???

Just How Bad Are Things In Buffalo...??? (UPDATE: Mike Milbury Explodes And NHL Responds)

((HT: Sportsnet/NHL on NBC))

Let's face it... the Buffalo Sabres are not a very good hockey team and the only thing saving them from being a horrific hockey team right now is the goaltending of Ryan Miller...

The Wednesday night game against the Boston Bruins showed just where the franchise is...

After Boston took a first period lead, the building shut up until this moment in the third that should get John Scott a phone call from the league office...

Here's the short version...
Scott went straight for Loui Eriksson's head and didn't even mask it... Here's the long version... ((HT: Fred Murtz)) The Twitter machine has been in overload identifying that Sabres head coach Ron Rolston won't even make the end of the year with his team and apparent coaching style. NBC Sports Mike Milbury said postgame that Rolston should be fired tomorrow and Scott should be out of the league. Evidence here... ((HT: Once again, Murtz and NHL on NBC)) But, as a history lesson, Sabres GM Darcy Regier has had heavyweights on his rosters before (read: Patrick Kaleta et al.) and there are even more who are saying that "The Code" has been thrown out the window in any future match-ups with these two teams. The only solution is to have Zdeno Chara square off against Scott since he would be picking on somebody his own size at that point... The HQ would suggest the following: The offending player sits for the same length of time that the injured player has to recover from the injury and the team gets fined a matching amount that the player gets fined as well. The coach also serves a suspension... Just a thought... that the HQ knows will NEVER EVER HAPPEN... PM UPDATE: The NHL has upheld the 10-game suspension on Kaleta and has suspended Scott indefinitely pending a hearing...

Not Quite The Dirtiest Hockey Hit Ever, But...

((HT: FS Detroit/NHL/Puck Daddy))

Now, we have Cody McLeod driving Niklas Kronwall into the boards...


Third time this week, if you include the KHL hit we just posted...

And that's not a good thing...

Here's the Colorado point of view, thanks to Kukla's Korner...
((HT: Sportsnet))

Dirtiest Hockey Hit Ever...??? Prolly...

((HT: Puck Daddy/KHL))

Puck Daddy gave us the heads-up on this one and we had to share...

The HQ is trying to figure out how to describe this, and the only words that come to mind are "classless" and "disgusting..."

To set up, it's the KHL... and even the translation of this act below came out to "KHL dirtiest hit ever by Panin / Panin outrageous fouls Murley" by the league itself, so you know where this is heading...

Ak Bars Grigory Panin did this to Matt Murley


As of right now, Panin only got ONE GAME for that...

The HQ thinks that might get revisited by the league or, if it doesn't, the next time Ak Bars takes on Medveščak Zagreb it could get ugly in a hurry...

And Now We Have One... Death Off A Head Shot

((HT: Harrison Mooney/Puck Daddy, Stu Hackel/SI))

It's from the Kazakhstan pro leagues...

Dmitri Uchaykin, a winger for HC Ertis-Pavlodar, got hit hard during last Thursday's Game 2 of a semi-final playoff series against HC Arystan. Donatas Kumeliauska of Arystan was named as the player who hit Uchaykin.

Uchaykin went on to skate another couple of shifts after no penalty was called on what looks like a high elbow or forearm...

From Hackel's analysis:

Eurohockey.com reports that he spent the night at home, but felt sick on Friday morning and was taken to the hospital. By the time he got there, he had lapsed into a coma. He lay unconscious for two days before passing away early Sunday morning from a cerebral hemorrhage.

The league was reportedly deciding if some sort of supplementary discipline will follow.

Mooney gets the credit for finding the video...


The questions begin anew now about violent hits, violence on the ice in general, and where does the line get drawn on what is "the game," and what isn't...

What say you, faithful reader...???