Even as a Flames fan I don't agree with this suspension. Shanahan is clueless. Edler's arm is tucked, he's not aiming high, and Hertl is reaching towards the puck, putting himself in a vulnerable position.
Edler can't possibly change his course at this point without taking himself out of the play (or leaping over the bench). This is not the kind of hit that should be removed from the game.
The last part of the video where Shanahan says "he must take a better angle and route toward Hertl", there is a diagram of an arrow point more east-west towards Hertl than Edler came in at. So, according to Shanahan, Edler should have hit the north-south moving Hertl coming from the east... a blindside hit.
meh, even if i don't agree, this evens out all the penalties the vancouver d should have received over the last year over post whistle jabs, crosschecks and high hits.
Edit: Actually agree with the suspension the more i watch the video. No need for Edler to take that line to the puck, Hertl barely had possession of the puck, only point of contact was with the head.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 10-11-2013 at 02:12 PM.
Obviously some of us have a different opinion on what the rules should be, but this is pretty simple guys. The NHL has made hits to the head illegal. Hertl has his head low like a dummy but as shown in Shannys video his head does not change direction significantly and Edler is responsible to take body contact.
Also,the blind side hit terminology is old, get with it. Headshots are what matter.
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I saw the hit and thought it would be reviewed. 3 games is a bit much IMO. One game and/or a fine would have be sufficient. It was similar to the Naslund hit where a player is reaching for the puck and then takes a hit to the head.
The thing I found interesting (watched the canuck feed on CI), is that in the intermission the canuck cronies mentioned that Edler has a reputation to fake playing the puck and then hit the player. I've never noticed it before so now I will keep an eye out for that. I think maybe a rookie like Hertl may not have been up to speed on that.
I might get flamed for this (sorry for the pun), but some of us Flames fans need to push the hatred for the Canucks out of our minds and look at the hit objectively; if this was a Flames player getting suspended for this hit (where there was no penalty on the play and the player appears to not be injured), how would we feel?
I saw the hit and thought it would be reviewed. 3 games is a bit much IMO. One game and/or a fine would have be sufficient. It was similar to the Naslund hit where a player is reaching for the puck and then takes a hit to the head.
The thing I found interesting (watched the canuck feed on CI), is that in the intermission the canuck cronies mentioned that Edler has a reputation to fake playing the puck and then hit the player. I've never noticed it before so now I will keep an eye out for that. I think maybe a rookie like Hertl may not have been up to speed on that.
Then what's to stop players from bending over with their heads out in front of them when handling the puck? Are they now immune from physical contact?
Hertl looks like he's sitting on an invisible chair.
I might get flamed for this (sorry for the pun), but some of us Flames fans need to push the hatred for the Canucks out of our minds and look at the hit objectively; if this was a Flames player getting suspended for this hit (where there was no penalty on the play and the player appears to not be injured), how would we feel?
The only way consistency is going to be achieved is if hits to the head are suspensions, period. It doesn't matter if it was an accident, if he took the wrong angle, whatever. You hit the head, you get a suspension. Shanahan got this right.
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Obviously some of us have a different opinion on what the rules should be, but this is pretty simple guys. The NHL has made hits to the head illegal. Hertl has his head low like a dummy but as shown in Shannys video his head does not change direction significantly and Edler is responsible to take body contact.
Also,the blind side hit terminology is old, get with it. Headshots are what matter.
I don't agree with this. Hertl does 3 different things that change his head position. He slows down, he starts to stand up and as seen by the rear video he changes direction towards center ice. All 3 of these change head and body position. So how can a hit that only misses hitting the shoulder by an inch or two not be affected?
I think the make or break as far as the suspension goes was the optics of his lid flying through the air.
I was half way through writing how it should be a suspension no question and decided to re watch the video in slow motion.
My tune has changed.... if you pause play pause play you see Edler takes a straight path to Hurtl without raising elbows or shoulders. It is not a blind side hit as Hertl clearly sees him in advance and wants to tip the puck up and go inside of Edler. With Hertl slowing down and trying to come inside it leads to the head shot.
Sheriff Shanahan gets it wrong....again.
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