Rammer wrote:
There was no scheduled hearing with the league on Monday. The NHL's Hockey Operations department said that the rule did not violate Rule 48, which provides an interpretation that the area behind the net is designated as a "hitting area".
What a hit, and now the Canucks should feel like they were burned as the penalty shouldn't have been called, which amounted to the tying goal.
If it is official that there will be no suspension, that is great news. Torres hits anything that moves.
The rule is far from a done deal; it needs more definition, more time to work it out. For example, more and more players are ducking down a bit prior to contact, or putting themselves in vulnerable positions prior to a hit (so the media has said, and it seems true to me). It looked to me like Torres did not use his elbow; it was shoulder. And if Seabrook was not so low as he dug his skates in, he would have taken the hit on his own shoulder. Quite often it seems guys are bent over and their head is sticking out when a checker/hitter is approaching. It is going to be difficult for the referees for a while longer until evreryone gets used to the rule. IMO ...
Torres certainly gave him a blast, and had him lined up. But some of that kind of contact is still part of the game.
I am not too impressed with Cam Cole, nor with Ed Willes. They were quite ready to throw Torres to the wolves. IMO an impartial observer would see that although Torres wanted to give him a hard shot, he did not use the elbow, and that Seabrook was very low in his crouch. And it was behind the net. And Torres made no effort to direct Seabrook into the boards; he hit him straight across back of the net. I think the puck was in play also. That is a lot of grey area for interpretation, but those two "local" reporters saw only black and white: suspend him.
Torres will have to be careful though. Very careful. Avoid the head. If a guy ducks down, take him with your chest, or not at all.
IMO ...
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/dregerreport/
NHL chief of supplemental discipline Colin Campbell does not feel Raffi Torres' hit on Chicago defenceman Brent Seabrook violated Rule 48 and therefore, Torres will not be suspended.
Torres, in his first game back from serving a four-game suspension for delivering an elbow to the head of Edmonton Oilers rookie Jordan Eberle, flattened Seabrook with a shoulder to the head hit behind the Blackhawks' net and in an area often referred to as, "Death Valley."
It's called "Death Valley" by some because - for an unsuspecting defenceman or puck carrying forward hoping to make a play while cutting around the net - they can be vulnerable to the attacking player who's approaching at full speed.
In this case, Seabrook was vulnerable and as video replay clearly shows, Torres made no attempt to play the puck and focused on what he understands his job to be - separating player from puck by administering a thunderous body check.
An important distinction for the NHL is the fact the puck was in the area of the hit last night and Torres stopped skating near the faceoff circle and cruised in before landing the hit.
"My opinion, based on Torres' penchant for hitting people in head, is he probably should be suspended.
But I will be surprised if is." -- Bob McKenzie
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=362700
Bob McKenzie -- "That's my view, but when NHL general managers created Rule 48 a year ago March, they allowed the area behind the net to be a "hitting area" and players need to be more aware than, say, in the neutral zone."
I agree with Campbell's ruling. Most of the media seems to feel Torres should be suspended. Steve Staios and Aaron Ward show more of a tendency to see that Torres was playing hard and tough within the rules.
In March of 2010, a DVD went to players, coaches, and general managers saying exactly that, that there was far more latitude given on hits behind the net on unsuspecting players. In other words, as one NHL GM told me tonight, a hit behind the net is viewed more like a north-south hit than an east-west neutral zone hit.
The other big issue is principal point of contact. Was it a straight-on body check where the shoulder also struck head or a "head shot"? Remember, in the NHL, there are circumstances where a shoulder hitting an unsuspecting or vulnerable player in the head is entirely legal.
..................
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/n ... id=6383058
After the game, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said: "There is a time for everything and we'll deal with it accordingly."
Well that sounds like a threat. It could get ugly.
"Hits like that, I'm usually the first guy to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but in this situation I just look at the player making the hit and his intent," Patrick Sharp said. "He played eight or nine minutes, and I don't think he touched the puck. His job out there is to create big hits. He got a penalty, so obviously it wasn't a clean hit. I think its pretty clear what his intentions were."
8 or 9 minutes of playing time and he doesn't touch the puck. LOL That is kind of funny. I guess Torres is hockey's "Designated Hitter." Ho ho Sorry about making light of the seriousness of the concussion issue. Because the issue of concussions has risen to a very high level this year. IMO more needs to be done to protect the players. They are bigger, faster, stronger, wearing suits of armour, and more able to deliver power to their hits than ever before.