The Hockey News: Brian Costello's blog: THN.com Blog: Hitting and head shots two different things

THN.com Blog: Hitting and head shots two different things

Brandon Sutter lies on the ice after suffering a concussion from a hit by Doug Weight of the Islanders. (Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)

Brian Costello
2008-11-01 10:11:00

There’s only one thing sadder in hockey than seeing a player such as Brandon Sutter lose consciousness and sustain a concussion after an on-ice hit. The change-the-game backlash and pleas to ban head shots are more harmful to the game.

It was a clean hit, plain and simple. There was no head-hunting involved, there was no penalty on the play and there’s no reason for revenge or game-altering rule changes demanded by some hockey critics.

Doug Weight of the New York Islanders was the last man back on the play Oct. 25. He and Carolina’s Sutter were rushing to the loose puck and a collision was inevitable. If Weight pulls up, he risks giving Sutter a breakaway and is certainly criticized by Islanders fans.

Eager to poke the puck forward and hop around Weight for a scoring chance, Sutter mis-timed his move and put his head in a vulnerable position before the impending collision. The hit was just part of the game.

That’s why it’s sad to hear some hockey observers criticize the NHL for not making a stand against head shots. Watch the incident and ask yourself what Weight could have done differently.

The only rule change that could have prevented this collision is to eliminate hitting from the game and that’s a preposterous notion. A no-hitting rule would have forced Weight to jump out of the way at the last second (which would have turned this hockey game into a figure skating competition) or fall to the ice and poke the puck away (and probably take an off-balance Sutter down with him.)

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Weight also could have immediately gone into a defensive posture and faced Sutter as the lone defender on a 1-on-1. (He surely would have been the ridicule of the Carolina bench for this.) But that’s not hockey. Players are allowed to make contact and hit in hockey.

And that’s the whole problem with the proposed anti-head shot movement called for by hockey critics. A player six-foot tall bends over to skate and has his head about five feet off the ice. When he reaches for a loose puck, his head lowers to about four feet off the ice. It’s only natural to expect a shoulder to hit a head during the regular collisions in a game – like what happened to Sutter.

It’s not fair to penalize innocent victims like Weight. He surely feels bad enough for the result of this incident.

So don’t go telling the NHL to alter its rules or stamp out hitting. Change your rant to the tightening of helmet chin straps or the softening of shoulder and elbow pads. Those are legitimate options to cut down on concussions without changing the fabric of hockey.

Brian Costello is The Hockey News’s senior special editions editor and a regular contributor to THN.com. You can read his Top 10 list on Wednesdays and his blog each weekend.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.

COMMENTS (43)

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Ryan Posted
(2009-04-30 07:21:33)

First of all You cant look at hockey and foot ball being the same ... Foot ball there on there feet and land on the grass/ground and they were so much padding Hockey is way different from foot ball, and its not like he ment to hit him in the head.. shi* happens and people get hurt the players no the risk of playing hockey from the skates cutting your throat, to pucks, sticks in the face and falling Foot ball.. there are not any of that they should just leave hockey the way it is right now .. and not ban hitting thats the dumbest thing i have heard that would kill the game the NHL would loss money and they would be killing the best game to watch and play, i play hockey... i should know that i take a risk when i play hockey..

Braden Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:45)

Troy- I pretty much agree with everything you just said. The game is better now, except for a few rules I don't agree with. I am afraid that if they put in a rule that forbids the type of hit like Weight put on Sutter than the game will be less physical. It was not a headshot. The league needs to stop with the rule changes for at least a couple seasons to let the game settle in and find it's own rhythm. I love this game, and I just don't want it to turn into something that I can't even recognize our enjoy watching. Leave it alone for a little while, it's pretty good right now with only a few small exceptions.

Troy Martinson Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:43)

Braden...part of the problem with hockey and concussions is there are so many ways to get one. Pucks, sticks, boards, posts, glass, ice, fists and protective so called padding. As far as the fans go, we're a passionate bunch who strive to see a good product on the ice. I think the game is close to where it should be, but the rules are so complex and forever changing that it's hard to keep up sometimes

Braden Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:34)

Oil Country- I completely agree that headshots are unnecessary and make the game look bad. Nobody wants to see them and any player that resorts to a headshot should be severely punished. I do feel bad for the ref's in the NHL now though. With all these rule changing every year and some of the rules are quite vague and ridiculous, more and more difficulty is being put into the referees job. I think fighting deserve to be treated as a different issue than headshots however. Some of the American networks don't give a crap about hockey. Lot's of people enjoy violence and that's just the way it is. I enjoy the fighting in the game but I absolutely hate the cheap shots. Violence sells. I guess it's just their loss for not seeing the entire game for what it is. It would also help to promote the NHL if more games were actually shown on the American networks. The fans of this game are partly to blame however. We are our own worst enemy. None of us can agree on EVERYTHING. When there is a concussion in football there is never quite as much talk surrounding it as if someone gets one in hockey.

Oil Country Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:32)

Braden...this league needs to get serious about the portrail of this game. Nobody wants to see shots to head that cause injury but then demand someone gets punched out for KOing one of their players. The cages were only a suggestion to ultimately protect the player from a serious facial or head injury, that's it. It's the referee's job to enforce the rules over an entire 60mins of play. And why is it that the violent acts in hockey get more airtime in the US then an end to end rush resulting in a OT winner?? American networks spew images of this all over the networks and it is truly a detrimate to the sport without realising what hockey is all about

Braden Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:30)

Oil Country- I dunno if going to cages is a good way to go. Then we have more equipment on overprotected players who are just gonna end up running around and getting rougher. I think you are going in the opposite direction on that one. Many people believe that when players started wearing helmets that a lot of respect between players was lost because everyone was seen to be "safer". If that happens, what would the league do about fighting? Guys shouldn't be fighting with cages and some of the more cowardly players will be taking even more disrespectful shots and run around being a$$holes. I don't think that a cage will prevent too many concussions seeing as how concussions are due to severe blows to the head and we really wouldn't be changing the actual skull part of the helmet in any way. This sport isn't football, it's much faster which means collisions are going to be harder. That's just the way it is. Make the shoulder pads softer I say, see if that helps. But otherwise if the hit is clean like this one, then there is nothing we can do but try to re-educate the players. Force them to wear cages? Come on, these are grown men playing a sport they love. Why don't we make a rule not allowing players to raise the puck when we shoot and then dip these players in concrete so they are indestructible? The NHL wanted a faster game and they have it. I enjoy it, but that also means the hits will be harder. I liked this hit. It was a great hockey play and, whether you like it or not, creates interest and attracts some viewers. Too bad for Sutter though. Just opinion....

Oil Country Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:28)

dumb-dumb...great points. I think the biggest thing is the equipment. Never in football do u see direct contact to the face. The football helmut is designed protect the ENTIRE head where as the hockey helmut is designed to protect the skull only. It's funny, growing up we all played hockey with cages etc and necer complained. All of a sudden (some of us) were at the junior level wearing only visors, and then (very few of us) get to the pros and given a choice of whether to wear a visor or not. Why? Who made these decisions? The PA? Like I posted earlier, if the players are unwilling to make simple choices to protect themselves then they will continue to be subjected to career ending concussions. I havent done any research but I am certain that the number of concussions would be significantly lower to players wearing cages to those not. All of us make choices everytime you get in a vehicle. You have a choice of whether or not to wear a seatbelt, the difference is the police ENFORCE it because it saves lives. Could cages save careers?? Who knows, I do know one thing though, the PA would be far to stubborn to even suggest it. That's what separates football from hockey, football does whatever is neccesary to avoid long term injuries such as helmut to helmut hits & low bridging by enforcing rules to prevent it. With hockey there is such a gray area, nothing is cut and dry because the league & the players dont get together to decide whats right or wrong, they'd rather wait for something bad to happen before they act on it.

dumb-dumb Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:26)

I agree that the hit was "clean" (whatever that means), and there was nothing Weight could do differently. However, in hockey this issue always seems to come up. It never seems to go away. Why is that? Here's a more poignant question: Why is it that in football, an extremely violent sport where every single play ends in at least one hit, headshots are not as big an issue? Yes concussions happen in football, but the frequency and severity is far less. What is football doing right and (by contrast), what is hockey doing wrong? Is it equipment, lack of respect, goonism, what? Something in hockey needs to change to protect the players, and until that is identified and dealt with, the reactionary band-aid calls for anti-head shot movements will continue. Get used to it.

Braden Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:07)

Clean hit. How wasn't it? Weight went into this hit like many other players do in regular body checks. Collisions are part of the game and there is no way to keep every player 0 safe at all times. Think about it this way, a guy on a sidewalk is oblivious to the traffic in the street and blindly walks out into oncoming vehicles when he knows that they are there. He gets nailed and everyone says it is the drivers fault for driving. The guy who was hit disregarded one of the first things that he was taught as a boy...... look both ways and keep your head up when crossing the street! Look people, this is hockey. I have played and hits like this are part of the game. It seems like everyone is also getting pissed off because it was a "potential star" that was hit. Big deal. I don't want my future stars to be completely oblivious to how the game works. I suppose then if it had been Sutter who had cleaned Weight it would be a good hit eh? There is a complete different between a hit to the head and a headshot. Hits to the head (like this one) are absolutely impossible to take out because of the collisions in this fast and physical game. headshots though are unnecessary. So what if he lined him up. He didn't leave his feet or elbow him and Sutter would have been absolutely fine if he hadn't have put himself in that position. Players get lined up all the time, but because this one time resulted in an injury, all of a sudden hitting is bad. These guys understand the risks when they go out and play, and they still love what they do. it's any kids dream to play in the NHL. I cringe when I think about what some of you people would do to society if you came into a position of power. God forbid our kids play in the dirt or maybe we should get rid of every single sharp pointy corner in the entire world. Hey and while you're at it why don't we take the punching out of boxing and get rid of the huge tackles in football, cuz you know, they don't really need to hit each other that hard or line each other up for the tackle. They could just try and pry the ball from the quarterback's or receivers hands instead........

Joe Legero Posted
(2009-04-30 07:16:06)

Clean hit. Simple. Anyone who would accuse Doug Weight of a dirty hit is weird. I full-heartedly agree with changing the composition of shoulder padding, as well as tightening the chin straps, as brought up in the blog (I remember when Sergei Berezin was in Toronto, that guy couldn't keep his helmet on for a full shift).

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