Does Giordano get suspended for the hit on Aho? Update:No hearing scheduled - Per NHL

[Cecil Terwilliger]

When it comes to a headshot, I don’t care whether the player wasn’t paying attention. Aho’s awareness is irrelevant to the rules. The only reason it matters in this case is because Aho literally just ran into Gio while he was standing set for a hit, not even moving. Doesn’t change the fact Gio was set for a hit and got his head.

Gio’s feet were set and he basically stopped and just stood his ground. Nothing about that is predatory at all, which is often a factor in these hits. He didn’t take a stride towards Aho at all.

So even though the penalty may have been the right call since he got his head, I don’t see how you suspend him. Just standing in a set stance with your elbow down and letting a guy skate into you can’t be a suspension, even if it might sometimes be a penalty.

[FanIn80]

It's also worth considering that the only way a hit to the head can result in a match penalty is if the ref "at his discretion" feels that the player deliberately intended to injure the opponent on the play.

In other words, by assigning a match penalty, the ref is saying he thinks Gio hit him in the head on purpose and intended to cause injury. Now we wait and see the League agrees with that assessment.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GGG

So after reading the rule I feel he should have gotten a minor penalty for the rule.

The principal point of contact was the head and it was avoidable as Gio was moving up rather than into Aho. He could have let up. However there is no intent to injure therefore per 48.5 no match penalty or supplementary discipline is warranted.

I'm disappointed the NHL doesn't have a blanket no head shots rule as this and most of the Legal hits on the headshot safety video warrant suspensions in my opinion. If this happened to Gaudreau I would be pissed.

1) the principal point of contact was clearly the chest - the head was shrapnel

2) he was not moving upward, he was actually moving downward, or 'into' Aho. Once their knees hit, their locked legs lifted Giordano up.

[Stud_McCool]

It's akin to a distracted driver driving into a parked car. I guarantee if there was intent to injure, Aho's career would've been over.

Hope there's no suspension to Gio.

[Fuzz]

10 game suspension incoming.

[Tron_fdc]

If Gio gets suspended for that the league may as well come out and ban open ice hitting altogether.

[dissentowner]

It is the NHL, I guarantee they will get this wrong and I expect a suspension

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by CedarMeter

Interesting reading some of the sportsnet comments. Some posters want him drawn and quartered.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/f...sebastian-aho/


Sedna Andes
“The rules say an illegal hit. Aho's head was the principal point of contact. Take a look at the replay in slow motion. "Beginning with the 2010-11 NHL season, any form of "lateral or blind side hit to an opponent, where the player's head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact" (which is known as an illegal check to the head) became prohibited."

opinions are like ***holes... everyone's got one.

Gio could have destroyed him, but didn't... however, nothing that the NHL does would surprise me.

Tkachuk got suspended one game for tapping a guy with a stick from the bench with one hand...so i would not be surprised at all if Gio got a game or two.

i don't think he ought to however

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

1) the principal point of contact was clearly the chest - the head was shrapnel

2) he was not moving upward, he was actually moving downward, or 'into' Aho. Once their knees hit, their locked legs lifted Giordano up.

Did you look at the camera angle that I linked to in my first post in the thread? Head is clearly the first point of contact.

[GoJetsGo]

Originally Posted by GGG

Did you look at the camera angle that I linked to in my first post in the thread? Head is clearly the first point of contact.

It's not clear at all. It definitely looks like the impact starts lower (as a result of Aho angling his body as he's moving in on Gio while not looking).

I don't see the head as the principal point of contact at all. It looks secondary as a result of him skating into the hit.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GGG

Did you look at the camera angle that I linked to in my first post in the thread? Head is clearly the first point of contact.

Principal doesn't mean initial

[Beninho]

Thought this was a good analysis on Hf about the Gio hit and if it's suspendable, from a neutral fan. Would be ridiculous if Gio is suspended imo.

"In determining whether contact with an opponent's head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:
(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward

Giordano certainly seemed to "attempt" to hit squarely through the body, and for the most part, he did. He certainly did not "pick" the head. There was full body contact.

(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.

You could definitely make the case that the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position. Skated into the slot with his head down. Giordano hit through the core.

iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact.

You could also make the case that Giordano lined him up and he cut inside. Either way, he still got a good piece of him, and the head contact was supplemental to a full body check.

There seems to be a lot of automatic thinking in this thread that if the head is the "principal point of contact" (which by the way - those specific words were removed from the rule book years back) that it's automatically a headshot. It isn't. The above provisions provide exceptions to when head contact is not illegal. This is for obvious reasons, because if you skate straight at a player with your head down, he either checks straight through you, taking the head first, or lets you go past.

I would be shocked if there is any supplemental discipline on this one. I am as far removed from a Giordano fan as it gets, and I don't even think this was a penalty - and apparently the referee who was looking right at it at the time agreed, at least initially, because he never even bothered to raise an arm."

[CedarMeter]

Edit. Wrong thead

[Aegypticus]

I came into the thread hoping for the best and fearing the worst, but after watching the DoPS video posted earlier I’m firmly in the “no suspension” camp. The examples later in the video of legal hits are all worse than what Gio caught Aho with. Seems like the video says that if you’re going to catch the guy square and his head gets in the way, too bad for him.

[transplant99]

Sedna Andes
“The rules say an illegal hit. Aho's head was the principal point of contact. Take a look at the replay in slow motion. "Beginning with the 2010-11 NHL season, any form of "lateral or blind side hit to an opponent, where the player's head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact" (which is known as an illegal check to the head) became prohibited."

It was niether lateral nor blind side...Aho skated straight into him, so I dont know how that condition applies.

[mikeecho]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Here's the rule:

What I love about these kinds of situations is how people immediately jump to firm conclusions based on what they recall the rule being at some point way in the past which is completely incorrect based on the current rule book.

“He hit the head. Doesn’t matter if he meant to, the rule is clear. Hit the head and you’re suspended. Don’t you remember that hit from 2006. That guy got suspended.”

But then again, DOPS is like that too, so even if the rule suggests he shouldn’t be suspended, I wouldn’t be shocked if he got a game or 2.

[dieHARDflameZ]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

If Gio gets suspended for that the league may as well come out and ban open ice hitting altogether.

This is 100% bang on. Aho needs to be smarter than that, skating through the middle of the ice towards the slot admiring the puck. Short of moving out of the way completely and letting him get a grade A scoring chance, I don’t know how else Gio is supposed to play that.

Yes, it’s unfortunate he caught him in the chin and hopefully Aho is okay but if that’s a suspendable hit, you may as well change it from the NHL to the NCHL.

[dieHARDflameZ]

Originally Posted by transplant99

It was niether lateral nor blind side...Aho skated straight into him, so I dont know how that condition applies.

Exactly. Gio literally stood there as Aho skated into him and he stood him up.

[Alpheus]

Some morons on HF think the knee-on-knee was deliberate.

If he gets the same as Cogliano, I'll be pissed. But given the DoPS track record of ineptitude, I wouldn't be surprised.

[Corral]

Yep - blanket no head shots rule is needed. So long as the NHL insists on scrutinizing the intent of the player who delivers the blow, hits to the head will unfortunately remain in the game. When a guy is hit and has to be held as he skates off the rink - its a head blow and the player delivering the hit should be suspended without pay - intentional or not. Much like it is when sticks get into the face and it draws blood - the extra penalty is based on harm to the victim.

No place for this in the game - the onus should be on Giordano to avoid the hit.