And for the record....I think 4 games (especially 4 playoff games) is excessive for the Sheifele hit.
The DOPS says he chose to hit the player instead of using his stick to try and negate the goal. Um....the rules don't say you HAVE to use the stick to swat at the puck and NOT hit the guy. The rules say you can hit the guy carrying the puck.
It was indeed a very hard hit and yes he COULD have avoided hitting him, but Sheifele was hustling back to try and prevent a goal and hit the guy BEHIND the red line, meeting him as he tucked the puck in the net. By the time there was contact, there was no way the committed hitter could have avoided contact at that point. He did not lift his hands or target the head or leave his feet. He lowered his shoulder and turned his shoulder inward and planted it squarely in the guy's chest.
I guess you could call it charging, but the guy was hustling to the play and he hit a player with the puck. The player with the puck, was not passing it or turning into the boards or anything else he was trying to score. Sheifele hit a guy WITH THE PUCK.
It was a massive, hard hit, but I don't believe it should have resulted in a 4 game suspension. Especially for a player who has no history, etc, etc..
The problem is...again....the inconsistent application of the rules of the game.
DOPS:
“It is also important to note that we have heard Scheifele’s argument that he gathers speed and maintains momentum in order to make a legitimate defensive play and attempt to prevent a goal from being scored. However, as Evans comes around the net with the puck, Scheifele does not attempt to make a play on the puck with his stick. Instead, he takes one hand off his stick, turns his shoulder and loads up for contact. While players are not required to attempt to play the puck, on this play Scheifele’s choice to not make a play on the puck tells us that he is conceding the empty-net goal.”
He didn't choose to concede the goal...he chose to hit the guy before he tucked it in the net. He just failed to do so.
Riddle me this DOPS....IF Scheifele had gotten there 1/20 of a second sooner and prevented the goal with the hit, would he still be suspended 4 games? That makes no sense. When would be a more important time to hit a guy then when he is about to score a goal? Just because it happened at the goal line, does that make it illegal to hit a guy? They talk like he hit the guy "well after" the goal was scored, but that BS. He hits the guy at/behind the red line as the guy is coming around the net. You slow it down to super slow mo and yeah...the puck goes in before the hit, but it is almost simultaneous and at real speed it's instantaneous. What you are saying is he should CHOOSE to concede the goal altogether and NOT hit the guy at all. You are penalizing a guy for pure hustle to try and stop a goal. Call it charging, which I will concede...."as a result of distance traveled he violently checked an opponent", which by definition is charging. And for the record....Scheifele was coasting when he hit the guy.
Is the DOPS telling us that a player now has to choose to try and use his stick instead of his body on EVERY play on the ice?
It's not like when Dale Hunter chased a guy down 10 seconds after the goal and cross checked him into the boards. (Pierre Turgeon)
