Matheson does his best "WWE" slam on Pettersson - Update: 2 game suspension

[codynw]

Originally Posted by locsofblu

The hit wasn't all that bad. Ya maybe he finished a little stronger than he should have but that is not a suspendable offence. This could have been taking care of if the NHL still had enforcers.

Find me an example of an enforcer going and fighting a non enforcer over something like this. It didn't happen. All they ever did was fight the other team's goon off a faceoff and get their heads caved in in their own zone.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

At the time no but a lot has changed including what we know about head injuries
The Sarich hit, for me, also shouldn’t be part of the game

That's a completely fair position.

Just not the side of the argument i am on. If we can't live with injuries in highly lucrative competitive sport, then take hitting completely out of the game and make it all about skill. I don't believe we can have it both ways.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

So if it’s ok because he’s a small slight player everyone’s good if that had been Johnny?

I wouldn't be happy, and I would hope a teammate would make that player miserable going forward, but I wouldn't consider it a suspendable offense. Not even a little.

[TheScorpion]

Horrible play that I'd like to see Matheson get a game or two for. That's targeting, and that's over-aggression. I don't care what team he plays for, if Pettersson played for the Coyotes or Hurricanes or whatever I'm sure my opinion wouldn't be of the minority

[GullFoss]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1051283450718638080

https://twitter.com/user/status/1051283187580645376

Based on watching this tweet many times, I'm starting to think this was malicious and Pettersson was concussed from the smack down

[Zoller]

Probably shouldn't have slammed him. That initial hit was just fine

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

No i strongly disagree. It's a contact sport that requires high level skill at the same time. This type of hit (bigger guy physically dominating a smaller high skill player that results in injury) is core to the physicality and intimidation factor of a contact sport.

If we aren't ok with it, then frankly hitting must be removed from the game and make it a pure skill sport. Hitting in pro hockey is NOT simply about separating puck from player.

I don't disagree.

But this isn't just hitting. This is man handling a player after the hit.

Hit that player all game long. But don't throw him on the ice like that

[Scorch]

Not a fan of that slam. Pettersson’s legs were pinned and he couldn’t land safely

Even in the WWE, the ring and outside mats have some give. The hard ice, doesn’t

I don’t see how people could cheer this and be against slew footing since it’s pretty much the same results with the same malicious intent

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

So if it’s ok because he’s a small slight player everyone’s good if that had been Johnny?

This is the nhl. There is a reason probably a dozen players Johnny's size have been able to make it at this level in the last 30-40 years.

Every small player runs the risk of getting manhandled. It should absolutely a penalty for roughing, maybe a fine, but this is not a predatory hit. Guys should not use less force when hitting or finishing off a hit because it happens to be a smaller player

[memphusk]

Don't get manhandled. It was fine, kid just isn't strong enough to battle. Or thick enough to absorb anything.

[GreenLantern2814]

I would be mad if there was no response from the team on a hit like that.

That said, it's a violent game. That's a fine hockey play. Didn't board him. Maybe it's roughing if you want to call a penalty, but that seems like a hard hockey play to me. If you want to avoid hits like that, learn to throw a football.

[Jiri Hrdina]

This isn’t about a hit
The hit was fine
Nothing he did after that could even be described as a hit

[jemjey]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

No i strongly disagree. It's a contact sport that requires high level skill at the same time. This type of hit (bigger guy physically dominating a smaller high skill player that results in injury).

If we aren't ok with it, then frankly hitting must be removed from the game and make it a pure skill sport. Hitting in pro hockey is NOT simply about separating puck from player.

I don't agree. I think a lot of us are saying the initial hit is fine. It's afterwards that I take issue with.

I'm a big MMA fan and practitioner and it looks so much like a clinch and outside foot sweep after the hit. You can see him lever Petterson over his right hip. Seems like he was a bit pissed the kid made him look silly a couple seconds beforehand and wanted to make him pay.

Would've liked to have seen 2min for roughing. For me there was enough separation between the initial hit and the takedown that I think they are distinct actions, Matheson following through so violently with his left hand at the end makes me think he wanted to do some damage. Seems like the other side thinks it was just a follow through. Fair enough.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Yeah, 2 minutes seems fair.

[bubbsy]

https://youtu.be/iGBam_rB1Wg

Apologies, don't know how to embed the video. Regehr put plenty of umph in finishing off his hits on a rival.

It had NOTHING to do with just puck seperation. It was a rivalry, and he himself explained it as vindictiveness.

Ugh, perhaps it's the don cherry in me, but big mwan guys who can over power the high skilled guys in the rare occasion they can get there is a huge part of the pro game

[combustiblefuel]

I'll feel bad for the abuse NHl or any athlete receives when yhere pay drastically gets cut . Untill then not a tear....

[jemjey]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

https://youtu.be/iGBam_rB1Wg

Apologies, don't know how to embed the video. Regehr put plenty of umph in finishing off his hits on a rival.

It had NOTHING to do with just puck seperation. It was a rivalry, and he himself explained it as vindictiveness.

Ugh, perhaps it's the don cherry in me, but big mwan guys who can over power the high skilled guys in the rare occasion they can get there is a huge part of the pro game

I mean, some of those hits are pretty questionable and dangerous... Also it's a different league now. No doubt I probably cheered when he made them though so I'm definitely a hypocrite.

I guess my perspective is on the opposite side of the spectrum, hate seeing guys have their careers cut short from over-the-top hits. Love hitting and fighting but in the end it's just a game and don't like when guys are going out with the intention to hurt someone. If it's a clean play and it happens, bad luck, but when they are giving it the extra oomph/slew foot/headhunting just to hurt them, not a fan.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

So if it’s ok because he’s a small slight player everyone’s good if that had been Johnny?

I don’t think everyone would be good, no. Is the fan bases reaction to a borderline play on its franchise player a good gauge for what the NHL should be guiding their supplementary discipline on?

It was dirty. Should have got a penalty for it. That’s what the definition of roughing is there. Even 4 min maybe for excessive force. These options exist in game to punish the player and his team and should be utilized.

[Blaster86]

Pins him, puts his stick between his legs for leverage and slams him.

It's garbage.

[drewtastic]

I come out on the side of posters like btimbit and Jiri here. I have no problem with hard, clean (legal!) hits, but the amount of abuse and injuries that NHL star players suffer is not just ridiculous from a player-safety perspective, it's also bad business.

Guys like Crosby, McDavid and Gaudreau have all recently suffered longer-term injuries due to the actions of other players. If you're trying to market the game, what good is having guys like these on the sidelines? Their injuries go beyond the normal "wear and tear" injuries players get over the course of a season, and if the NHL brass were smart, they'd send stronger messages to players who cross the line, especially against star players.

Partisanship aside, Petterson is a fun player to watch. The NHL is better with him playing than sidelined because of garbage like that.