A lot of attention has been focussed on the hit New Jersey Devils enforcer Cam Janssen laid on Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle on Friday night.
Janssen leveled Kaberle with a blind side hit, resulting in Kaberle’s head striking both the boards and then the ice, leaving him in a crumpled heap. He left the ice on a stretcher and spent the night in hospital, where as of this writing it’s yet to be determined the seriousness of his injuries.
There’s a considerable debate going on as to whether or not it was a clean hit by Janssen. Those supportive of the Devils forward compared it to former Devils great Scott Stevens’ bone-crushing hits on Eric Lindros, Ron Francis and Paul Kariya.
Some remind Leafs fans angry over Janssen’s action that former Leafs goon Tie Domi leveled former Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer with a cheap shot in the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Follow this link for a video of the hit on Youtube, complete with a slow-motion replay.
First of all, Janssen hit Kaberle well after the Leafs blueliner had passed away the puck. Janssen, instead of peeling off as the play moved up ice, skated directly for Kaberle as the Leafs d-man was skating backwards, watching the play move up ice while in the process of turning up ice.
Kaberle wasn’t admiring his pretty pass or looking down. He was following the play, with his head up, but Janssen was on Kaberle’s blind side. Janssen could’ve peeled away as the play was no longer at that end of the ice and Kaberle was no longer part of the play. At the very least, he could’ve eased off.
Instead, Janssen angled himself toward Kaberle and nailed him with his left shoulder into the side of Kaberle’s head. Moreover, the slo-mo replay clearly shows that Janssen left his feet to deliver the blow. It wasn't a shoulder on shoulder check he was going for. Janssen saw he had Kaberle in a vulnerable position, and went for the head-shot.
Before I proceed, let me state that I’m not a Leafs fan or Kaberle fan, I actually admire the New Jersey Devils franchise and I’m no bleeding heart who wants the league to ban bodychecking.
This was a dirty hit, a cheapshot, plain and simple.
There’s been a growing lack of respect between NHL players in recent years. We’ve seen an increase in head trauma injuries, partially to do with equipment, but mostly due to deliberate attempts to injure.
It’s one thing to deliver a clean, hard bodycheck. It’s another to go headhunting, and as evidenced in the video replays, that’s what Janssen did.
He claims he was “finishing his check”, but that’s a lame, BS excuse. There was no check to finish, because the play had already turned well up ice when Janssen angled toward Kaberle.
Had Kaberle still been in possession of the puck, or had just passed it away when Janssen lined up Kaberle, that would’ve been “finishing his check”. If he’d kept his skates on the ice and hit Kaberle shoulder to shoulder, or in the chest, that would’ve made it a clean hit.
If he’d lined up Kaberle and the latter lowered his head at the last moment, Janssen would’ve been absolved of blame.
None of those things happened. Janssen picked his spot and went for it. It wasn’t a clean hit. It was a brutal cheapshot.
I realize hockey’s a rough game. I never played it professionally but played enough of it to understand it’s a rough game and carry the permanent reminders on my body.
Bodychecking always has a place in hockey, and sometimes injuries can be an unfortunate consequence. Everyone who plays the game at any level understands it and has no problem with it.
Cheapshots,however, have no place in the game, and neither do players like Janssen who deliberately attempt to hurt an opponent.
right on cue, people are gonna start turning on the devils. it's the stretch run and people are gonna start saying they're dirty. And Ted Nolan was whinning that their game is boring a few weeks ago. I saw that hit. If you watched Cam Jansen on a regular basis you would know he's one of the cleanest hitting enforcers around. And imagine this, the devs are one of the LEAST penilized teams in hockey. So Cam got over zelaous. It happenes. But to say he has no place in the game for one ill advised hit is nonesense. but it's ok. Spector, you'll eat tons o' crow when the hoist the cup this spring!!!!!
The casual disregard with which Janssen laid out Kaberle sickens me. There seems to be no more respect between players and someone is going to be critically injured or killed if this headhunting continues.
The Jody Shelley hit on Tom Gilbert in the Columbus / Oilers game a week ago was a similar kind "no respect" hit. The Oilers rookie Gilbert was in a bad position and Shelley could have made a choice to avoid contact. He didn't, and Gilbert (4 games into his career) hasn't played since. (A digression to show I don't play favourites: Later that game, Patrick Thoresen and Mathieu Roy of the Oilers retaliated with an attempted knee-on-knee to Rick Nash and a dangerous hit from behind boarding on Anders Eriksson respectively that frankly should have drawn suspensions.)
Like Spector, I like contact and hard hitting hockey. (I'm even not above the occasional "cheap shot" now and then, but we'll keep that our secret.) Just to be clear, however, there's a big difference between "cheap", "dirty" and "outright dangerous". What Janssen did to Kaberle is needless harm and that kind of poor decision-making has to be drummed out of the game.
The League and NHLPA are going to need to look into the body armour the players are wearing nowadays. While it's designed to give the wearer better protection in the event they crash into the boards, I think it's instead causing considerably more damage in human collisions, particularly when you're taking one of those shoulder pads to the melon.
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on March 3rd at 9:48 AM.
that blog was right on. when i first saw the hit i thought kaberle was dead. it easily could have killed him. kaberle is one of the best d men in the league and a vital part to toronto's team. when someone blindsides that kind of player he deserves to be kicked out of the league. if you do that in football it is an expulsion, so why not hockey. the league has to review these rules.
LGB: I was well in the midst of trade deadline coverage when the Neil on Drury cheapshot went down. If I'd had time to write about it, I would've. Now that the deadline is passed, I can comment on other issues more often.
jonblaze: You missed the point. Where, anywhere, in this post did I run down the Devils as an organization? Or turn against them? Or wish ill upon them? I won't need to eat any crow on this, but you owe me an apology. Oh, and just wondering, but if, say, Chris Neil were to lay out Scott Gomez or Patrick Elias or Martin Brodeur in the same manner, would you accept that Neil was just being "overzealous?"
Its very simple and I don't understand the problem. Any part of the body that strikes an opponents head should be a penalty. A shoulder to the head should be a penalty. An elbow to the head should be a penalty. Hit anywhere you want other than the head. Its really very simple. A hard body check that causes a player to hit his head on the ice, as long as its not late its not a penalty. Bottom line, head shots should be illegal. Wait till one of the young stars (Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin) go out for an extended time. Thats when the change will be made.
I think everyone's missing the main point. As a Leaf's fan, I'm pretty PO'd by the lack of fair officiating in this game. A whole lot of running by the Devils, and the Leafs, in a vain attempt to avoid penalty trouble and keep their post season hopes alive, "turtled." Good for them...
What is DISGUSTING is the fact that this #### on skates left his feet to ensure "shoulder hit head." Not "Finish my check." Not "deliver a message." Both of which by the way, are more complete thoughts than the cro-magnon speak occuring in ice ####'s head. No, this was pure intent to injure.
The sad thing is, that even if said #### gets a suspension for this sickening display, it's not like the world class Devils organization could care. The guy plays 5 minutes tops in a 60 minute game. Meanwhile, Kaberle is consistently 20+ minutes a night. And he can play...
Anyone who sits there defending this kind of "goonery" either as a blind Devil's fan (which you'd have to be to enjoy watching their games, OK, cheap shot, but I'm ranting, my apologies.) Or as a defender of "old time hockey" isn't paying attention. A shoulder, covered in nice, hard weaponized plastic "pads" knoking you ANYWHERE on the head is going to hurt, and is quite frankly, an incredibly unnatural way to deliver a hit in hockey.
Just like Neil'#### on Drury, this was a blind-sided cheap shot on Kaberele. I wonder when the league office will do something about this. Honestly. I'm a Sabres fan. When Neil hit Drury I was furious. And seeing the same damn thing all over again in the Leafs-Devils game really pissed me off. Cam Janssen is the Devil's "tough guy". Thomas Kaberele is a Leaf's player of known offensive skill. So yes, it was just like the Neil-Drury incident all over again. What a shame. I believed that the NHL should have suspended Chris Neil for his hit on Chris Drury. I believe the NHL should suspend Cam Janssen for his hit on Thomas Kaberele.
You wrote about waiting until one of the young stars gets knocked out and then things will change. We've already been there. Scott Stevens dropped Eric Lindros with a "clean" hit and the collective hockey world shrugged. Or worse, blamed Lindros for skating across the blueline with his head down. (That's almost as good as saying with those clothes on in that part of town the woman was asking to be ####.)
I was one of the lonely few who said Stevens was in the wrong, and that what he did broke the code of mutual respect. I'd like to think I was ahead of the curve and as the number of headshots mount eventually the rest of the fan base will come to share my point of view. But I'm afraid it's going to take something horrific before anyone acts.
I'm old enough to remember Bobby Orr playing on knees so bad that if someone wanted to put him out of the game permanently they'd just need to take advantage of any good opportunity to line him up. And no doubt Orr gave the opposition numerous chances over the course of a season. But no one took that liberty because they respected Orr as a player, and to a man they knew whoever put Orr down would have to fight his way through the rest of that season, if not the rest of their career.
There was accountability and there was respect, two things sadly missing from the game today.
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on March 3rd at 12:20 PM.
This was just an incredibly dirty hit and there is no defence or excuse for it. Anyone trying to hide behind "finishing his check, overzeleous," should get their heads examined and then try experiencing that kind of hit themselves and see how understanding they are.
Three games is nowhere near enough for what Janssen did. Doesn't help that it was well behind the play, he was head hunting and caused Kaberle to leave on a stretcher. On top of it all he had no remourse for what he did, he actually tried to defend himself. At the very least when someone gets injured if the guy responsible feels terrible about it that is something. But when you see no problem and talk about it like you are a player for another team that just heard about it there is a serious problem there.
I agree there seems to be a serious lack of respect between NHL players. Really makes you wonder how many more players are going to get hurt before something happens. Just suspending the guy responsible doesn't solve the problem. I####uy takes out the star player of another team and that guy loses his season does 3 games make it alright? I like checking and playing a tough game, but when guys start head hunting and try to really hurt another player something has to be done here.
What Janssen did and what people think of him has little to do with New Jersey as a team. It's about idiots like him going out to hurt other players and not caring one bit about it. Though personally when the playoffs arrive whoever eliminates the Devils will have my thanks. But that's just a personal bias. All we can do is
As a Panthers fan, I watched in two separate games against the Devils, Jannsen do the exact same thing. Its a small wonder he's gotten by through the year without getting killed for it yet. Glad that he's finally going to pay as he is by far, the dirtiest player I've seen play the game since Claude Lemieux.
You know, I don't know if it's me or what, but I've noticed that this year especially, as the season runs on players are taking runs at each other. Not just the Drury/Neil incident or this one either. The Blackshawks were taking all kinds of nasty chops at the Wings last night for example. Call me crazy, but it seems like everyone is trying to weaken the other team by injuring there regular players.
This is why the instigator rule just shouldn't exist. If it didn't exist and if Darcy Tucker were playing in that game he'd be out on the next #### to beat the #### out of Janssen and then it would be over with.
The idea of haing an inforcer is to keep the other players honest and that won't ever be possible while the NHL gives into all the complainging of the people who can't stand fighting in hockey. Who are these people? I've never met one of them in my life. I'm convinced that they don't pay to go to hockey games.
My Grandma is one of the most gentle people I've ever met and she's got no problem with a hockey fight. My Dad would refer to her as "Crazy Sylvia" in the 80's because she'd be so loud while cheering the Cannucks on that half the people on the block could hear her.
The NHL needs to grow some balls and start showing the kind of contact that goes on in the NFL to defend their right to have fights in hockey games. They need to slow things down and show all the ignorant #### that don't realize just how much skill it takes to play hockey well and exactly how fast hockey is.
When you watch them on tv it obviously doesn't look like they're skating as fast as they are, they're shooting hard rubber at 100MPH, and they're not playing on a grass field. They're playing on solid ice. What's below that? Oh yeah cement. Nothing there to pad your fall.
Instead of giving into the retards who complain and chose not to go to hockey games, they need to make fools of these people.
This is a no-brainer, the NHL needs to punish a flagrant late hit, and that's that. 5 games minimum, maybe 10 but something. It was not a 'hit to the head' in any intentional way, just blatently late.
Those saying it's similar to Drury need to stop piling on what they read about the hit and watch it. Neil's wasn't late, and like Jansen, no head hunting (Drury's shorter, which isn't Neil's fault).
The refs didn't see it due to it being so late, and assuming the NHL steps in and suspends Jansen, the issue is closed.
The NHL is part of the problem. They dole out such lopsided justice, the players don't know what to expect. To me the Chris "Turtle-Boy" Neil hit was worse than Janssens hit, but both to me were dirty. People said Lindy Ruff was crying when he said, If it were Crosby hit instead of Drury, Neil would have been suspended. He's exactly right! I believe in this case & Neil's they should be suspended for the exact amount of time it takes their victim to return. In Bertuzzi's case, Lifetime suspension or until Moore signed off on his return.
I think we can all agree, there is a place for rough stuff in hockey. To me there is no place for cowardly players like Neil in the NHL. He starts fights and sneeks away for McGratton to finnish or Turtles like Don Cherry so pointed out a couple of years ago. Yes, I saw the only fight Neil's ever had last week against Buffalo. The Dale Hunter's and Claude Lemeiux's & Esa Tikkanen's of the world were at least good hockey players that new their roles and didn't cross lines for others to finnish.
You can't even compare this hit to the Neil hit for time wise.. Even on Thats Hockey they slowed it and played it.. 3 ONE HUNDREDTHS of s second later..Neil hit him.. was it cheap.. yes.. blindside yes.. should it be illegal because it is a hit to the head.. yes.. but the NHL hasn't brought in those rules yet so it is still a legal hit. It was by far not late whatsoever.
Cam'#### however... he came off his feet, charging, and hit Kaberle 3 full seconds after the pass which is late as hell. The refs should have sent him off for intent to injure for jumping.. and for the time delay in hitting him. He should be suspended as long as Kab's is out for..
AM I the only one who sees players leave their skates EVERY FREAKIN NIGHT, and only when someone gets hurt (In a physical game where not the brightest people need to make quick decisions in the heat of battle) does this discussion come up. Hey, I don't like seeing anyone injured, but if we're gonna talk about it, then call it when ANYONE leaves their skates. And while we're at it, let's have a skills competition for every player and those who aren't skilled enough (Most goons!!) then they can't play. ok the last bit is a bit excessive.... No it isn't, this is a skilled game and if you don't want people to get hurt when they play, we'll have an ALL Star Game every night ;)
Matt, it wasn't only Lindros that Stevens hit in the head. Stevens essentially ended the career of a promising young forward for the Canes named Shane Willis. Nobody remembers this kid. He was never the same afterwards. No hits to the head should be allowed. Fights are part of the game. This BS is ruining the game.
Andy--I have noticed the same thing about players running each other. But if they know that the league will let them do whatever they want and there will be no punishment, then why not? After all, the only thing that matters is winning, and if it helps me as a coach to send out a goon to knock out other players from the game, then why the heck not? If I am the Toronto coach, then I don't send out an enforcer the next game with the Devils to beat up Janssen. I send out a guy to take out Brodeur's knees, and if all goes well, his ligaments look like spaghetti after being run through a blender. If it is plausibly an accident and my enforcer and I are good at making canned apologetic little noises, then there probably will not be any punishment for either of us. Unfair, unsporting, mean and gratuitously viscous--of course. But logical? I would argue yes, and if winning is all the matters in this cutthroat environment, then I will do unto others before they do unto me first. Apparently that is what the league wants, because that is what they think will sell (or at least not hurt sales, at any rate).
And I don't see how an enforcer on the ice would help in a lot of these situations. I'd still send my goon after the other team's stars, since he would only get in a fight with the other goon after the damage had been done. Punishment on the ice afterwards would not be a deterrent--a ten game suspension might be, but until the league cares about the health of its players more than it seems to at the moment, someone is going to have to die on the ice before anything chan
Canesworld: I'm sorry but I almost crapped my pants laughing when you said "Promising young forward named Shane Willis". Willis was neither promising or young. He spent a few years in the Lightning system and they practicaly pulled a muscle getting rid of him b/c he was so worthless.
It's not your imagination; the chicken salad has been running pretty deep and stinky this year with a lot of headhunting garbage going on. Case in point: in three games against Minnesota, Derek Boogaard has nailed and injured three Oilers -- Ales Hemsky (10 games), Ladislav Smid (6 games) and Marty Reasoner (injured Thursday, 1 game and counting). The NHL isn't punishing these goons and instead they're handcuffing the on-ice policemen who might keep them in check.
Aren't we all looking forward to that first round Nashville / Minnesota playoff match-up when Boogaard takes a two-hander to Peter Forsberg's ankle and puts him out for the playoffs? And at the post game press conference Boogaard will claim he was just following through on his shot and Forsberg got in the way. The fact the incident occurs behind the Minnesota net will no doubt complicate that defense somewhat...
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on March 3rd at 8:57 PM.
Yeah, I remember Shane Willis -- he's an Edmonton boy! -- and I sure do remember that hit: April 2001, first round of the playoffs. Stevens put him in hospital with a bonecrusher.
The kid had a 20 goal, 44 point rookie season with Carolina and showed a lot of jump and jam. Then Stevens scrambled his marbles. Carolina shipped him to Tampa Bay the next year. The Lightning clearly got damaged goods in that deal.
Canesworld, I agree with you: Usually when two players square off in a fight they're evenly matched. Rarely do you see a heavyweight take on a middleweight, let alone a lightweight. But the headhunters almost always knock out somebody smaller and more talented.
Fighting is a PR and an optics problem for the pro-growth faction of the NHL. But these needless headshots are literally putting the health of the game and its players at risk.
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on March 3rd at 8:56 PM.
Three games? What kind of joke is this? Why did Mcsorly lose his career for the bump on who once was the biggest goon in Canada AKA Donald Brashear? Three games? Mcsorly didn't even mean to do what he did to Brashear and this guy goes out and does something which was obviously so intentional and gets three games?
The NHL does need to wake up. I can remember when Paul Kauria got knocked out by Sutter. Kauria's father was a teacher at my school during those times and I can remember the reaction when that guy got a slap on the wrist. And if it were Crosby it would be a lot worse.
There once was some dude in the 80s. Forgot his name. He landed a pretty good clean hit on The Great One. He wasn't given a penalty, but he never ever played another game of hockey in the NHL. Sounds fair, right? Didn't think so.
I support Brian Burke's idea of making it 5 instigator penalties till you get a suspension. Five sounds fair. Not that the rule should exist at all.
Here is where the Buffalo-Ottawa brawl has brought some good. It is putting these types of hits into the media spotlight. Hopefully, it will stay there until something is done.
However, it is not a problem that can be fixed by rule changes alone. The NHL, NHLPA, owners, GM's, coaches and players need to correct this.
I do have a couple New Rule ideas as a start:
1. ANY player that leaps or leaves their feet in the process of making a check - Automatic ejection and 5 min bench major.
1A. If above AND the checked player is injured beyond following game - The checking player is to be suspended WITHOUT pay for DOUBLE the length said injured player is not available to their respective team. The suspended players team will PAY ANY AND ALL medical expenses of said injured player until return. If player is not able to return the suspended player can only return to their team after receiving express written consent from the comissioner of the NHL and NHLPA, the injured teams Owner, GM, Coach and said injured player.
2. ANY player that makes contact with the head of another player during the process of a check - Automatic 5 min Major
2A. If above and the presiding Referee OR Linesman deem that the contact to the head could have reasonably been avoided - Automatic 10 min double major
2B. If above Rule 2 and player is injured - Automatic ejection and 5 min bench major.
2C. If above Rule 2A AND the checked player is injured beyond following game - Same as Rule 1A
I am NOT trying to eliminate checking or hard hits. I enjoy them as much as any hockey fan.
I know there are things in the above rules I missed and loopholes. I hope everyone will take a look at them and suggest improvements to make them as fair as possible.
Boltsfan as Matt said, by the time he got too you he was a shadow of what he was and could of been. Canes brought him back this year to their farm system. I am no huge Willis fan. Its just an example of how an unnecessary hit can ruin a career. Was it legal, sure, should it be, no way.
I've never understood the argument that a shoulder to head hit is "clean." How is it any less dangerous than a hit with an elbow? (That's like saying 10 pounds of feathers weighs less than 10 pounds of brick -- they're both 10 pounds, they weigh the same.) And that's just one half of the problem in this particular situation. Timeliness (or lack thereof) is also important. This hit was so late it's indefensible. It clearly looks like "intent to injure," not "finishing a check." If the league eliminates this type of hit, there will be those who will say the league went too far, and others who will say they haven't gone far enough. But if we can objectively look at this hit (and the Drury hit, and plenty of others for that matter)and know that there's no need for it in the game then the league surely can as well. That is their job, right? A shoulder hit, combined with lateness (which, in my opinion, means intent) should result in a MINIMUM 10 (arbitrary number, but I'm open to suggestions) game suspension.
Coming from a Devils fan: There's no defense for the Janssen hit. No, it's not comparable to the Neil hit; Neil's was not that late. At least I've seen nobody from the Devils organization defend the hit (except Janssen himself). Secretly, they probably wish the suspension was longer. Three games isn't enough but no suspension of Janssen would be equitable.
The anonymous poster that wants to see Brodeur's knees look like spaghetti should remember the Domi hit on Neidermeyer. Neither hit has any place in hockey.
First of all, as a Sabres fan I think the hit on Kaberle was cheap. Again as in Drury's case, he is a star in this league and not a cheap player. But the NHL thinks a 3 game suspension is just? The guy plays 2 minutes a game. What a loss!!! When is the NHL going to get real and hand down something meaningful or do we have to wait for some #### to cheap shot Sidney Crosby before something is done. Everyone loves good clean hitting in hockey and it's place in the game is a must but come on, 3 games!!! How about a longer suspension and the coach getting suspended too. That might help. The other thing I noticed about the Kaberle hit is no Toronto players retaliated. The only guy who even said anything was a guy I can't stand but give him cudo's for coming out of locker room and saying something. None other than Darcy Tucker. He was injured and watching from the locker room and came out to say something to the Devil's player Janssen. Maybe that is why the Leafs are strugging because there is no team spirit.
I still think the lack of retaliation was because no one saw what happened. All they knew was that Kaberle was laying on the ice and their first concern was his condition. You'd hope if it happened in the play like Drury where everyone was watching there would've been a bigger response.
The league has to find a way to give meaningful punishments when guys pull stupid stunts like this. A guy like Janssen who barely plays and no one gives a damn about hurts one of the top defencemen in the league. Add in the lack of punishment and the whole thing sucks.
Well I'm gonna say it and everyone can crucify me after but this was a clean hit. I've watched the clips on youtube more than 20 times.
He didn't leave his feet, there was part of one foot on the ice at all times.
He didn't hit his head. It's a bad angle and I can't find another one from the other side but to me looks like shoulder to shoulder.
The only thing wrong is that it was debatably late. (1.5 sec watch in full speed) Most refs allow 2 secs, I know it's not in the rule book but niether is a hit to the head.
The only reason there is any talk about this is because Kaberle got injured. Not from a hit to the head but from hitting the boards. It bothers me that people can let the media spoon feed them information. Then those same people spit it back like it's fact.
The bottom line is thats the job of the enforcer, to finish their checks. Every team has one or two of these guys and that is how they impact the game. Kaberle should have protected himself better and known that a checker was on the ice.
Finally there was a ref ten feet from the play who didn't call the penalty. Maybe he didn't see it to call the late hit. But the truth is that there shouldn't have been a suspension for a late hit.(the only possible penalty) They happen in EVERY game and we won't have many players left if a suspension is the proper punishment for this penalty.
Last edited by hockeyfan30 on March 4th at 2:47 PM.
I don't think that it should be an automatic ejection, because it can understand how easy it is to end up off your feet without wanthing to leave your feet. I do say a 5 minute major is in order, though. And if the player is injured and the player should be enjected for just as long as the other player is injured.
I think you miss my point. Every year something happenes and people turn on the devils I didn't say you were. Jansen'#### was dumb. but 3 games?!?!?!?!?! that was a reaction to the Drury thing. And such things should be handeled on the ice. If Cam got his butt kicked for what he did. I would've said good for him. It was a late hit. And what about Sean Avery starting the brawl in the devs-rangers game? Avery got taken out, like he deserved. I just hate the leauge meddling. so i m sorry if i offended, but i m so sick of devils bashing. and I'm also sick of the leauge makign examples of people when they feel the violence is too high. And let's not forget, that suspension is tied to the injury. If Kaberlay had fallen to the corner and not the boards, does cam still get in trouble? I'm not excusing Cam He was wrong. But this is so over blown and such blatant Devils bashing. The leauge hate the devils and their play. For god sake, half the new rules are directly in relation to their sucess over the past decade or so................................. .....
Last edited by jonblaze007 on March 4th at 5:18 PM.
This hit was blatantly late. The hit on Drury though was a clean hit and wasn't late. Drury crossed trough the centre with his dead down - this is what happens. If you take out head shots you limit the ability for players to aggressively take out players. Hitting is already becoming less a factor. If players have to be continually concerned about making sure they don't hit the head, they wont be as aggressive, and the physical play of the game as a whole will suffer even more.
The Janssen hit would have been clean if it wasn't so excesively late. As is though, it was a cheap shot.
jonblaze: Missed your point? You claimed "right on cue, people are gonna start turning on the devils, which neither I nor anyone else in this thread has done, nor I suspect have most hockey fans. You said people would start calling them dirty, which no one has.
You wanted to stick up for Janssen, claiming he's one of the cleanest hitting enforcers around. Regardless, what he did on Kaberle was not a clean hit, and I think there's enough of a consensus here, amongst other fans, and the media, to back that up. You cited the Devils as one of the least penalized teams, but that has nothing to do with Janssen's cheapshot on Kaberle.
You claim he got "overzealous", I asked you how you'd feel if a rival player got "overzealous" and did the same thing to one of the Devils top players, but you ducked the question.
Finally, you made an odd statement about me eating crow as if I'd run down the Devils or questioned their Cup chances, which had nothing to do with my original post.
To the people who said this hit was blatently late I would like to point out that FOX SPORTS in the pre game of the Devs said it was exactly 1.3 seconds after the puck left his stick. They had their production team time it so they knew exactly how long it was. It was NOT 3 seconds as so many claim. The Toronto play by play guys counted to three while watching the hit IN SLOW MOTION. And other than being 1.3 seconds late it was completly clean.
Last edited by hockeyfan30 on March 5th at 5:07 AM.
i didn't duck anything. I even said if he got his butt kicked i would've been all for that. It was a late hit. My general point is it's overblown and he's paying for what happened to Drury. And if it was Gomez or Elias getting run to the ditch, I'd expect the same reaction as the LEafs players had. That's what you do for teammates. I just feel stuff like this becomes fodder and makes the devils bashers LOOK correct. There is no sticking up for Cam. He #### up. But look elsewhere in the media and you'll see the hating being turned up already
What is going to happen when someone is killed on the ice due to a cheap shot, will the league dish out a suspension or ban that player for life. Just wait until it happens to someone like Crosby or Ovechkin, then maybe the league will dish out harsher punishment to make players not want to take the chance, considering that respect for other players isn't enough to stop this BS.
jonblaze: you're looking for something that isn't there. Show me examples where this "hating of the Devils" you proclaim has cropped up. Nobody's "hating the Devils" because of Janssen'####. They think less of Janssen, but they're not tarring the Devils as a whole.
hockeyfan30: It's not the timing or that Janssen hit Kaberle with his shoulder. It's the fact that he clearly blindsided Kaberle, aiming for his head. He could've peeled away when Kaberle made his pass. He saw Kaberle no longer had the puck and the play was now well away from the both of them. He didn't. He saw an opportunity to level Kaberle with a blind side hit and took it.
Again, if Kaberle were still in possession of the puck and if Janssen hadn't deliberately aimed for Kaberle's head, it would've been a clean hit. If Kaberle had just passed away the puck a split second before Janssen hit him (and again wasn't headhunting), it would've been clean. If one of those two factors were in play and Kaberle dropped his head a split second before Janssen hit him, it would've been a clean hit.
Those factors never happened. It was a blindside cheapshot by Janssen, who wasn't "finishing his check" but rather deliberately trying to hurt Kaberle.
it's funny you should worry about Ovechkins health when he's possibly the dirtiest hitter in the league. He leaves his feet on almost every hit he dishes out. No one suspends him.
My point was about one of the young superstars in the league getting seriously injured due to a cheap shot, regardless of who it is.
Sure he leaves the ice on every hit but that is exactly my point, what happens if he seriously injures someone with a late hit, will the league look away.
I just hope they are not waiting for another situation like Bertuzzi/Moore or McSorely/Brashere to crack down on dangerous hits, because it just might be too late come then.
1.3 seconds. You make that kind of decision in 1.3 seconds. Not to metion his job is to hit not "peel away". That 1.3 seconds is from the time the puck leaves Kaberle's stick. By the rules he is still in possesion of that puck until it reaches it's destination. So take out the half second of travle time for the puck and you got eight tenths of a second that this hit was late.
Again there is no penalty for a hit to the head so that doesn't matter. In my opinion he didn't hit his head, watch the replay, watch Kaberle's jersey, Janssen hit body.
There is no penalty for hitting a player who doesn't see you.
Janssen didn't leave his feet, again watch the slow motion replay. The tip of his right foot is on the ice the whole time.
The ref was right not to call anything. This was a hockey play. Players get hit that late in every game.
This suspension is a joke. If the league wants to suspend someone they should look to Toronto for the comments made about their next game with NJ. Something to the effect that all the Devils players will have to answer for the hit not just Janssen. Coments like that show the Leafs are gonna be out to injure someone.
Last edited by hockeyfan30 on March 5th at 6:39 AM.
hockeyfan: You're entitled to your opinion, but it's clearly a minority one. I broke down the incident in the original post, referring to the video which I linked to. I'm not gonna chew my cabbage twice on this. My original comments stand.
you're not gonna chew the cabbage twice? Isn't that the point of this blog? To debate these things, offer different opinions? I understand I'm in the minority here. Thats why I've gone over that clip time and again, to make sure I'm right. I just wonder if you've gone back to look at the hit. I'm sure I won't change your mind but I believe this hit wasn't nearly as bad as everyone is making out to be. The result of the hit was horrible and no one wants to see players get hurt. However I feel this was such a big deal because Kaberle got hurt. Without that injury no one would have said a word.
His job is not to hit but to take players off the puck, and Kaberle did NOT have the puck. If he wants to hit to injure when players have the puck, fine with given the hits are clean, but when they start to hit players when they don't have the puck then that is not hockey, thats head hunting.
I also thought that it was a cheap shot. You have to wonder what the officials as well as the NHL is watching. Good hard physical hockey is very exciting. As a ranger fan I have to wonder what the officials and Colin Campbell have watched this year. This is not an excuse for the Rangers inconsitant play and lack of scoring, but with all the liberties that are taken with Jagr and others is Campbell still sore over getting fired? Then the penalties that get called against the Rangers are sometimes outragous. The interference call against Betts the other night. Come on! Lindy Ruff mite not be wrong. Its time to protect your own because the NHL is not Going to.
hockeyfan30: As I said, you're entitled to your opinion, indeed, I have no problem with your take. What I'm saying is, you've raised nothing in your comments that would make me reconsider my position. I viewed the video replay countless times to ensure what I was writing was accurate, and I still believe it was. Again, I stand by my original comments.
so while public opinion appears to be against janssen, there also seems to be a distinct lack of devils fans speaking up. so, as a devils fan, and while I'm thinking of beating the proverbial dead horse, here goes:
1. I thought janssen'#### was late. there wasn't a lot of time to decide, but after seeing the footage many times I think he should have moved up ice following the play instead of playing the man.
2. I didnt' see a hit to the head. I saw a shoulder check that, from the angle it was filmed, could be mistaken as a head hit.
3. I also believe kaberle's injuries came more from spinning 180 degrees head first into the boards. not a lot you can do in his position, as I think the hit set him spinning in that direction, but I firmly believe it was the boards and not the hit itself that injured him.
4. would I be mad if it was elias, gomez, parise, etc in kaberle's place? you bet. janssen needs a butt whoopin for what he did. I don't entirely agree with the suspension as I honestly don't beleive the intent to injure was there, but then the suspension was based on the lateness of the hit, instead of intent to injure. in that case, while I don't entirely agree, I can understand why the suspension was handed out and I won't complain about it.
5. what about tucker? "It's the rest of the guys on his team who play 20 minutes a game that are going to have to answer for what he did." that's a quote in today's paper, and honestly he should be dealing with the guy responsible and not going out to injure other devils players.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
