The NHL want to do away with dangerous head shots like this. Check out the hit, Flyers forward Mike Richards smokes David Booth with a shoulder to the head, you have to wonder if Richards will get between 3-5 games for this check. The Florida Panthers aren't happy with the incident.
“I thought it was a late hit and I thought it was a dirty hit,” Panthers general manager Randy Sexton said. “He tracked him from behind and you could see it clear he put his shoulder right to his face, to his head, and then he followed through.”
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren defended Richards and called out Sexton, saying, “Randy should watch more hockey games.”
“It was a good hit,” Holmgren said. “I don’t see how they can (suspend him). Mike was doing his job. He was back tracking, he caught up to the play. His feet never left the ice. David Booth turned his head or it would have been a shoulder on shoulder hit. It’s a physical game and sometimes these things happen.
“Everybody in the league knows Mike isn’t a dirty player. He’s a player every team in the league covets.” [Courirer post]
That was not a dirty hit. It was all shoulder but booth turned at the last second to hit Richards' shoulder with his face. It sucks that it ended up being such a horrific hit and nobody wants to see players get hurt like that, but I don't think Richards should or will be suspended.
ReplyDeleteVicious elbow? Did you even look at the video. Absolutely a clean hard heat. Don't watch your pass and keep your head up. Our kids are thought that every day. I hope booth is ok and I hope Bettman doesn't look at the logo on the jersey for this discipline.
ReplyDeleteCome on Goon!!?? Richards' elbow is clearly down, along with Booth's head, and he paid for it. Got him with the shoulder. Good solid open ice hit. It's unfortunate that Booth was hurt on the play. If he would have gotteen up from the hit under his own power, maybe you'd think different. Like the hit Toews took last week. That was just as vicious, and just as clean. If Richards get any kind of fine or suspension, he'd better be appealing until he's forced into a hunger strike.
ReplyDeleteOk, so I went back and watched the video, elbow, ok probably not, but it's a head shot and the league wants to do away with them. The league will probably look at the "uniform" and unfornutately take that into account wheny they are handing out their discipline.
ReplyDeleteI'd like not to see hits like this, but the guy actually had his hitting shoulder lower than his other shoulder.
ReplyDeleteI don't see that youc an take this hit out of the game without making the game worse.
It also wasn't a late hit.
Clean hit. Sucks that there was an injury, but this is hockey and Richards is paid to play physical. He's a franchise-type player and maybe does have a bit of a short fuse, but there definately should not be a suspension simply because he plays for the Philly. Go Flyers. Hey goon, the Bruins are going down at Fenway on New Year's Day.
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