Originally
posted by
MrCharcoal:
1) OG hit was dirty, from behind etc
2) Punch / Glass smack was just wrong
3) It's playoffs. No injury, No problem.
The writer of these posts sound like crappy trolls. Im guessing the star player of his team was suspended and fined once and now it's his mission to bring every injustice to the attention of his readers.
Playoff hockey has always been more aggressive. This guy should take out his tampon, man up and quit seeking attention through an online outlet.
What? I'm the writer. And I'm a Leafs fan. And how the hell does aggression excuse what Weber did? He got run at from behind. Fine. It happens in hockey. And as you say, this is playoff hockey. It's more aggressive. It's a completely unreasonable and careless response to punch the guy in the back of the head and then drive his face into the boards. The action that Weber did to Zetterberg is exactly the same action that Bertuzzi did to Moore. The difference being Moore's head traveled farther and harder into the ice than Zetterberg's into the boards.
And I never understood this whole injury thing. If the goal of the NHL is to avoid injuries by addressing the hits that cause them why would they wait until they've already failed (i.e. not punished dangerous hits unless they cause injury)? Wouldn't the proactive thing be to punish hits that could very easily lead to injury? Where do they draw the line? What can a player get away with? Can a player take a baseball swing at an opponents head and not be suspended because if it didn't cause any injury? There exist hits where the result shouldn't matter. Police doesn't arrest the idiot going 160 because he got into an accident. They arrest him because he could have very easily gotten into an accident. He created an unsafe and reckless situation. And given the suspensions Shanahan gave in the regular season had no patterns at all in terms of there having been an injury or not it's clear that an injury is not necessary for a player to receive a suspension.
Lastly, this whole playoffs thing is bogus too. Why should player safety matter least in games that matter most? What's the argument in favour of being more lenient in the playoffs? It's a tougher game? Sure. So you won't call a roughing call that you otherwise might have. You won't call a slash or a hook that you otherwise might have. You let them play on the ice unless it's something blatant. That doesn't mean you ignore anything. Playoff hockey isn't and shouldn't be a no holds barred free for all. It's bad for the NHL product if star players aren't playing in the playoffs. What if Zetterberg had been injured? He was hit with enough force to crack his helmet. He very easily could have missed one or more games. Why should Weber benefit because Zetterberg got lucky?
In fact, the law even recognizes that intent is more important than result when looking at manslaughter vs. attempted murder. In the Criminal Code of Canada both manslaughter and attempted murder gets you up to life in prison, minimum 4 if with a firearm, minimum 5 if with a firearm and associated with a criminal organization. So in a scenario in which two parties are having an argument and in the heat of passion one party discharges a firearm at the other it doesn't matter whether or not that individual dies or the extent of their injuries, they are punished the same way. Extend that to the rink. In the heat of passion down low in the corner Weber retaliates against Zetterberg by slamming his head into the boards. Injury shouldn't matter for such a reckless action.
