Former NHL player Adam Johnson passes away after cut to neck

[Max Cow Disease]

I’ve watched this multiple times since yesterday AM and am finding it pretty hard to simply toss it in the “freak accident” bucket. I’d have thought it inconceivable to ever suspect a player would do something like that intentionally, but the overall body motion there is just so bizarre. Some have suggested he was merely trying to oversell the clip he received from the other player, which may be true, and I doubt the true intent was to slash Johnson’s neck and kill him, but at best it seems remarkably negligent.

I wonder what comes of this. What does a police investigation in to something like that even look like? I suppose manslaughter’s not outside the realm of possibility given there will never be any way to truly get at the “intent” in a play like that, but yeesh. What an awful situation.

[timbit]

Originally Posted by Bonded

It is such a weird video. Loses his balance while going for a check. Loses balance and kicks his leg out and basically karate kicks the poor dude

You don’t lose your balance and generate that much force in a kicking motion, Imo. Looks intentional.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by timbit

You don’t lose your balance and generate that much force in a kicking motion, Imo. Looks intentional.

Yeah, I agree. The video looks bad. I just can't get my head around that someone would actually go for a high kick with blades attached to his feet

[pylon]

I've watched it multiple times trying desperately to see how in any way shape or form this could be an accident.

This guy is going to be charged with murder. That doesn't remotely look accidental.

[Royle9]

There's absolutely no way that a bump of that magnitude caused his leg to elevate that high and fast "accidentally"

That's disturbing and disgusting. Absolutely horrific.

[RyZ]

There is nothing natural or accidental about that movement. I dont think I have ever seen a player move that way on the ice in all my years of watching hockey. The only explanation I can come up with is that it was an intentional targeting of the head/neck/face area with the skate blade.

There has to be some kind of investigation now that the video has been released. This is ugly.

[Hockeyguy15]

Do I think he meant to kick him in the neck? No (can someone be THAT malicious? I hope not). I do think he was trying to "sell" the pick, and kicked his leg out to trip the guy or something.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by pylon

I've watched it multiple times trying desperately to see how in any way shape or form this could be an accident.

This guy is going to be charged with murder. That doesn't remotely look accidental.

I doubt any charges stem from this. Video looks bad but it is only one angle and would be tough to prove intent no matter what the video looks like.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by RyZ

There is nothing natural or accidental about that movement. I dont think I have ever seen a player move that way on the ice in all my years of watching hockey. The only explanation I can come up with is that it was an intentional targeting of the head/neck/face area with the skate blade.

There has to be some kind of investigation now that the video has been released. This is ugly.

I think the simplest explanation is that he was selling the hit to try and get a penalty called.

[dino7c]

Impossible to prove intent

Even if the guy is an ass there is zero chance he wanted that to happen.

Heck Kassian kicked a guy in the chest and SN still celebrates him

[PepsiFree]

Manslaughter could be a thing I guess. But there’s no way he intended to kill the guy and it’d be hard enough to prove he intended to kick him in the head/neck area.

Even just looking at his reaction as he skates away, I do not see someone remotely prepared for what happened.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Bonded

I doubt any charges stem from this. Video looks bad but it is only one angle and would be tough to prove intent no matter what the video looks like.

I can buy his skate catching a rut causing him to lose balance. This isn't that. He actually kicks and forces his leg out like a karate side kick.

He may not have intended to kill the guy. But to me this looks like an intent to injure where the unthinkable happened. Petgrave has a reputation and has been ejected multiple times in the past. And even if this was an attempt to sell a hit, his poor decision to attempt to game the rules has cost another man his life, and that's manslaughter.

Horrific incident and something I never thought I'd witness in a hockey game at any level.

[The Yen Man]

It does look like he intentionally tried to hit him with his leg at least. Maybe not the skate, but that looked like he side kicked him with his skate. That was totally reckless on his part.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by pylon

He may not have intended to kill the guy. But to me this looks like an intent to injure where the unthinkable happened. Petgrave has a reputation and has been ejected multiple times in the past. And even if this was an attempt to sell a hit, his poor decision to attempt to game the rules has cost another man his life, and that's manslaughter.

.

Bolded doesn't really matter when it comes to criminal charges and italicized not really in the context of playing a sport that has inherent injury risk. They'd have to prove that he kicked and it wasn't a tragic freak accident.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_negligence

[Barnet Flame]

The action looks deliberate, reckless and inherently dangerous. The outcome is not intentional. There is at the least, a case to answer.

[dino7c]

civil trial seems more likely although I am not sure about European law

league and player as defendants

[Barnet Flame]

UK law and Canadian law are similar. In fact case law in Canada can influence UK law when dealing with complex or novel issues - but I think this is mainly in civil law cases.

[N-E-B]

I just saw the video. To me it looks like he tries to stick his knee out to hit Johnson as a reactionary movement, but loses his balance and his leg comes flying up.

I find it hard to believe he intentionally ninja-kicked a guy in the throat. I think it’s more likely he intended to knee him, lost his balance, and hit his throat accidentally.

[Eb0la11]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Only one person ever died from a puck over the glass that I know of. There are now nets on every arena.

yep, it’s how humanity reacts. I wouldn’t be surprised if it does get adopted. It’s just sort of silly to try to control everything. I guess I just come from an era where, for example, an uneven side walk makes you learn how to think about where you place your foot. That makes you more aware, reactive and responsible.

[Eb0la11]

Are they removing it from video feeds now? No links seem to be working anymore