This will be the next hit that is going to be looked at in the NHL. Some in the media are comparing it to the Donald Brashear hit on Blair Betts. It looked like a pretty rough hit and you can bet the NHL will look at the hit. The Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle didn't think the Hit was dirty.
"I'm sure they're going to say it was dirty, but this is a game that's played and physical contact is allowed," Carlyle said. "We timed the hit. From the time he passed the puck until Mike Brown made contact with him, there wasn't a second that went off the clock. It was at 8:36, and the clock did not move by the time he made contact. He didn't hit him with his elbow, he hit him with his shoulder. Hudler was admiring his pass.
"They can talk all they want about a dirty hit. That's not a dirty hit in hockey. You're allowed to take the body in this game."
Randy Carlyle needs to check his stopwatch. Almost two seconds passes between the pass and the hit. It didn't look like an elbow, and Hudler was looking at his pass, but that doesn't give anyone a right to drive their forearm through a guy's head. I'm all for big open ice hits, but when you're aiming for someone's head, then it gets quite a bit sketchy.
ReplyDeleteI heard on XM 204 that Brown will not be suspended.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't surprise me. If you start calling suspensions on a hit like that, you're going to have to call suspensions on a lot more crap. Too sketchy to make a clear ruling on, in my opinion, but I still think someone should talk to Brown about taking shots to guys' heads.
ReplyDeleteBrown could have held up, but it was a clean hit. It was nowhere near two seconds, Boosh. He passed the puck at 1:06 of the video and the hit was at 1:07, and Hudlers head was low because he was leaning over so it wasn't a head shot. It was nasty, but not illegal.
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