Wilson gets 20 god damn games..

[Mickstix]

Well, I predicted they'd throw the book at him and they did.. 20 fucking games!! 


https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/10/03/tom-wilson-suspended-games-by-nhl-department-player-safety/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e739cad507fe

[Devise]

Wow. That is a pretty big pill to swallow. I thought for sure 10 but double that is steep. It's the worst hit he has thrown no doubt but 20 games?

[apace41]

If you listen to what the player safety department said it's hard to argue.  This is his 4th suspension for hits to the head in the past 116 games which is the fastest rate of any player since the player safety department was started.  We love him because he's ours but he's putting other players' careers and health at risk for no good reason.  He needs to fucking grow up.

[Mickstix]

Didn't think about it being a 1/4 of the season, but yea.. What a hit!  Not sure why you'd even do something like that in a preseason game, but it tells me it's something he wont be able to learn how NOT to do.. He'll probably do it again before the season ends and repeat..


Be funny if he ever got voted to the all star team and cleaned somebody out ala Sean Taylor.. 

[alta]

That's bull shit. They threw the book at him based on him being a repeat offender. If the league hadn't been picking on him to begin with he wouldn't be a repeat offender

[richkrt99]

20 is a bit steep.  I know Willy is a repeat offender, and I can grasp the reasoning put forth by DOPS in the escalation in the number, but I don't agree that the main point of contact was the head and that Willy targeted the head (or that he is solely responsible for the positioning, etc, etc)


I was expecting 10 games, but I am admittedly a homer, so....


I'm sure Cindy is happy. (and that's all that matters)


Fucking 20 games is season altering for the Caps.


I'm curious about what guys like Dale Hunter and Scott Stevens think about the current NHL and its direction.  Somebody ask Alan May what he thinks of this.


Don't get me wrong, I mean Willy needs to curb this and the timing was epic stupid, and I'm not advocating head-hunting or deliberately trying to injure someone, but please don't take checking out of the game.

[DC_1908]

what


the


fuck!


The Department of Player Marketing needs to get rid of the soy bots that infested it.


Let’s hope he wins in appeals

[Ozzies09tc]

From a blues fans' perspective.


This hit -imo- is the epitome of old time hockey which is sadly no longer allowed in this nhl.


My 1st reaction to the hit was "ooooohhhhh" followed by "gotta keep ur head up there oskar".


Then i heard about the meeting with the Dept of Safety and itbwas "a hit to the head" which i cannot for the life of me see that as a hit to the head.


Chris pronger and zdeno chara used to get elbowing penalties all the time, not due to the use of their elbows in their hits, but due to their height over the other players'.


I bring that example up as -again as a blues fan- this was a taller bigger (monster truck) player running into a honda civic that should never have been in the nhl in the 1st place (the blues REALLY tried to make this kid a 2nd liner for some reason)


Its 20 games because he is a repeat offender. Which is a shame. He is bigger and stronger than 90% of the guys in the league yet somehow its his fault they get hurt.


I get it. I do. He should let up, etc. Im not advocating for stretchers in every hit.


But when can we stop the victim blaming and start telling these players to keep their heads up, stay alert, dont turn into the check in the corners as it will be boarsing and much more painful etc.


Sigh. I digress.

[justwincaps]

Daaaaaayum.   Was thinking 10 games - 20 didn't even hit my radar. 

It was a dumb, unnecessary hit in a preseason game........and it was a couple of inches away from being the best open ice hit we've seen in years.  Wilson's hits have been borderline aggressive hits.  Marchand's elbow to MoJo last year was f'n intentional, by a repeater offender, to the head, and he only got 5 games.  If this is the first step in the DOPS cracking down on headshots, cheapshots, etc then so be it - by they sure as hell better throw the book at all the other "repeat offenders" and not just punish Wilson for being Wilson.

[BlackIce]

20 is a bit steep.  I know Willy is a repeat offender, and I can grasp the reasoning put forth by DOPS in the escalation in the number, but I don't agree that the main point of contact was the head and that Willy targeted the head (or that he is solely responsible for the positioning, etc, etc)


I was expecting 10 games, but I am admittedly a homer, so....


I'm sure Cindy is happy. (and that's all that matters)


Fucking 20 games is season altering for the Caps.


I'm curious about what guys like Dale Hunter and Scott Stevens think about the current NHL and its direction.  Somebody ask Alan May what he thinks of this.


Don't get me wrong, I mean Willy needs to curb this and the timing was epic stupid, and I'm not advocating head-hunting or deliberately trying to injure someone, but please don't take checking out of the game.

Well, it is what it is.  A few points:


(1)  The hit was NOT blind side.  He cut toward the middle, and Wilson was coming from basically the direction he was skating toward.  Besides that, the video shows the player bracing just before Wilson hits him.  He knew Wilson was coming.  And Wilson did hit him from the side, not from behind.


(2)  As I stated elsewhere, physics says that a lot of the force of the hit had to go to the side of his body, or he wouldn't have spun almost 360 degrees when Wilson hit him.  I don't argue that Wilson got his head, but I don't think it was the main point of contact.  However, "main" is a judgment call.


(3)  I read a comment from another GM saying that Wilson deserved a long suspension.  But he also said that if the Caps wanted to trade him there would be 30 GM's on the phone.  And that's at $5 million + per year.


(4)  This IS season-altering.  With the tightness of the Metropolitan Division and the improvements of enough other clubs, it is quite possible that this single action could be the difference between the Caps making and not making the playoffs this season.  And for those who would say, "just play through it," the Caps were 10 standings points from being out of the playoffs last season.  That isn't a lot of wiggle room.


(5)  Perhaps the alteration Wilson needs to make going forward is, instead of hitting players more straight up, he needs to lower his shoulder like a running back trying to finish a run, and hit his opponent in the chest or stomach.  Heck, that might be more damaging than how he is now hitting, because his force would be more concentrated rather than "stretched out."

[alta]

Both of Willy’s preseason suspensions last year were for hits that happen damn near on a nightly basis, and the only reason he was suspended in the playoffs is partly the history of those two previous and because Shitsburgh jumped up and down and threw themselves on the floor(what a spoiled 5 year old does) about it. The Shitsburgh press were pretty much the only ones that thought Willy should’ve been suspended for an unfortunate hockey hit. Now, as I see it, Willy will be a target in an effort to get him off the ice because everyone knows his next bad hit/suspension will likely be his last. I’m looking forward now to several mediocre years from him just as we got from OV after the league unfairly targeted him.

[apace41]

(5)  Perhaps the alteration Wilson needs to make going forward is, instead of hitting players more straight up, he needs to lower his shoulder like a running back trying to finish a run, and hit his opponent in the chest or stomach.  Heck, that might be more damaging than how he is now hitting, because his force would be more concentrated rather than "stretched out."

This IS the adjustment he needs to make.  Make SURE the hits are through the "core" of the body.  Stay away from the head -- I don't care if he's 6'4" -- he can get low when he hits.


And it will hurt not to have his energy but I don't think it is season altering.  It would be if it happened 20 games in but not at the start -- they can adjust to this because teams don't get playing really physically until the standings start to sort out after the midpoint of the season.

[KitFisto]

Well, if he doesn't learn this time his contract may go down as one of the worst ever. They'll have guy count in the cap that never plays. Like it or hate it today's NHL won't allow it so he HAS to adjust or may as well retire.

[Maacoshark]

    20 games is excessive for a bad hit on a hockey play. It wasnt like he deliberately barracked someone from behind like Bertuzzi did. Yet the suspension is similar.
    I'm pissed about the number if games he got but I'm also pissed at Wilson himself. He knows the league has their eye on him but he does this in a meaningless game. Not sure if you guys realize this but 3 of his 4 suspensions were on plays that happened during the preseason against the Blues.

[DC_1908]

Both of Willy’s preseason suspensions last year were for hits that happen damn near on a nightly basis, and the only reason he was suspended in the playoffs is partly the history of those two previous and because Shitsburgh jumped up and down and threw themselves on the floor(what a spoiled 5 year old does) about it. The Shitsburgh press were pretty much the only ones that thought Willy should’ve been suspended for an unfortunate hockey hit. Now, as I see it, Willy will be a target in an effort to get him off the ice because everyone knows his next bad hit/suspension will likely be his last. I’m looking forward now to several mediocre years from him just as we got from OV after the league unfairly targeted him.

YOURE GOD DAMN RIGHT!!!!


How everyone is fuming with anger over this “predatory”  supsension is humiliating!


This mean you TED!!  Why doesn’t he stop counting his move and sipping soy milk and raise a fuckin assault on the NHL officers?  Get on camera speaking out, vote against/for everything those assholes want and STAND UP FOR PLAYERS AND FANS FOR ONCE!!!

[alta]

YOURE GOD DAMN RIGHT!!!!


How everyone is fuming with anger over this “predatory”  supsension is humiliating!


This mean you TED!!  Why doesn’t he stop counting his move and sipping soy milk and raise a fuckin assault on the NHL officers?  Get on camera speaking out, vote against/for everything those assholes want and STAND UP FOR PLAYERS AND FANS FOR ONCE!!!

Tariq was on with Chad Dukes a few minutes ago talking about it. Tariq is dumb as a rock. Thankfully Willy does have the opportunity to appeal this. Hopefully he has a spokesman that can articulate how he has been picked on. I don’t see the suspension going away, but it damn well should be reduced by at least half.

[KitFisto]

The NHL isn't going back to what it was. Neither is the NFL. The pussification of the country and refusing to allow men to be men has infected sports. The players will have to adjust or they'll simply be kicked out of the league.

[ArJunaZ]

The god damn NHL sucks.  I missed the Blues game on Sunday. My stupid DVR recorded the NHL channel because in the guide it claimed it was showing the game, but the game was on another channel [FUCK COMCAST]. I just watched it today. I did not see that as a suspension. Tom was flying towards the play and that idiot Sundqvist cut across the ice right in front of him and did nothing to protect himself. Tom clearly spun in an attempt to NOT hurt him. As I said, the league is using this and Tom Wilson to support their anti-concussion lawsuit and public opinion. Tom Wilson is just a fucking pawn.

[Maacoshark]

Tariq was on with Chad Dukes a few minutes ago talking about it. Tariq is dumb as a rock. Thankfully Willy does have the opportunity to appeal this. Hopefully he has a spokesman that can articulate how he has been picked on. I don’t see the suspension going away, but it damn well should be reduced by at least half.

     I think for his appeal to be successful they will need to gather up evidence of other similar hits and what the punishment was handed out. I also think they should point out that the league is focusing more on the injury sustained than the actual hit.
    Ive seen worse hits than this one. Wilson shouldn't be penalized because he transfers more energy in a hit than all the pussys in this league.

[alta]

There is no question this was a bad hit by Willy, but 2 things: 1: if you’ve got to slow the film down to frame by frame and use a magnifying glass to find head contact, that’s BS. 2: and more importantly, if the league hadn’t already singled him out for being too physical in a physical game he wouldn’t have a history and be considered habitual. This is no different from when the league picked on OV for being too physical. The only difference, the ONLY difference, is OV is damn lucky he never broke someone’s jaw.