I can't believe it's NOT a suspension!

[dbr]

Bullshit to your horseshit, I said there has been worse and no suspension.

So?

[Hockey Widow]

I thought he deserved 5 and a game misconduct, which he got. I thought the 2 game suspension was overkill given the league's history of inconsistency.

But it was an absolute late blind sided hit. I'm ok with it because it won't affect our playoff chances and Jake is young enough, early enough in his career that he has to learn from hit. I want him to be aggressive and hit more often, but legally.

I'm all for taking blind sided hits out of the game.

[rats19]

Yet burns doesn't even get a penalty on late..elbow to Hank a couple games ago...

Hank shud have thanked Virtanen not thrown him under the bus.....or at least reworded his ire.....

[DonCherry4PM]

I thought he deserved 5 and a game misconduct, which he got. I thought the 2 game suspension was overkill given the league's history of inconsistency.

But how could they continue their storied history of inconsistency unless they were yet again inconsistent?

I think it is a bit overkill, but hopefully this will be enough of a slap on the hand to get him to keep his game a bit cleaner. I love the huge hits but he needs to keep them within the limits of the game.

Did Hank say anything other than that the hit was late and blindside? That is all I have ferreted up on the interweb.

[rats19]

Here is what he didn't say....

Yah for sure.....that was a great hit by virts....love his energy, although a bit late it shows what this kid has got.....<leadership

[Mickey107]

Here is what he didn't say....

Yah for sure.....that was a great hit by virts....love his energy, although a bit late it shows what this kid has got.....<leadership

Exactly ...

[Meds]

Put me down as someone who laughs a little at Sedin calling him out, what does he prefer do nothing and get faced punched because then they can score on the PP?

So what he has a little piss and vinegar, need some of that on the team. Some of you think this means he will be a goon costing them games in the future, geesh he is 19 years old and learning to play in the NHL, the captain on the team shouldn't be calling him out in public.

2 games is ridiculous and they are trying to show something, not sure what but the NHL league disciplinary group makes no sense majority of the time. There has been worse hits with no suspensions or fines in the past. Again look a month ago when Sedin was hit away from the play and he missed a few games. No suspension or fine, why? Because there was no penalty on the play.

Marchand is a complete ass yet this year he scored >30 goals, scored >20 many other times and he is a complete asshole.

Horseshit!

Jake's stupid blind side shoulder was retaliation for having his stick knocked out of his hands 5 seconds earlier in front of the Shark's net. The play had already gone up ice the other way. Polak and Jake were nowhere near the puck or the play and yet Jake, in a 0.2W moment, decides to blind side Polak.

Dumb. Stupid. Idiotic.

Sure, go ahead and give the guy a little whack on the pads with your stick, but a blind side hit is something the league has been targeting for several years.

Horseshit? Horseshit would be where you say that Polak and Jake are nowhere near the play. Polak is carrying the puck and passes it up the ice, Jake hits him less than 2 seconds later. Polak passes the puck at 18:04 and contact is made a fraction of a second before 18:02.

The blindside part is garbage, no place for that, and won't condone it. At least contact was shoulder to shoulder.

As for Polak, he gets up pretty quickly and doesn't appear dazed or anything immediately after the referee's announcement of 5 and a game.

[Meds]

Yet burns doesn't even get a penalty on late..elbow to Hank a couple games ago...

Hank shud have thanked Virtanen not thrown him under the bus.....or at least reworded his ire.....

Yep. I have never been a fan of the Sedin's leadership style. They won't call guys out for continual errors and inability to read a play, but they will call out rookies for effort level and aggressive energy, the latter being something this team has lacked entirely since Hank donned the C.

Hank and Dank are really good players, the stats don't lie.....but I can't wait for their passive leadership style to be gone.

[Topper]

Two seconds is a safe following distance when driving on the freeway.

[Meds]

Two seconds is a safe following distance when driving on the freeway.

[Hockey Widow]

Yet burns doesn't even get a penalty on late..elbow to Hank a couple games ago...

Hank shud have thanked Virtanen not thrown him under the bus.....or at least reworded his ire.....

And today Benning came out and said they support the league's decision calling Jake's hit late and a blind side hit. Talked about not wanting to take the aggressiveness out of Jake's game but he has to learn where that line is and not cross it. Even though he is suspended he was eligible to travel and practice with the team to SJS and LA. The team decided to keep him home and get him some off ice work.

Sometimes leadership is standing up and calling it like it is, especially for a 19 year old that needs to learn if he wants to stay in the league. No one threw him under the bus. They just called it the way it was.

[Lancer]

With both Benning and Hank saying what they've said, I get the feeling there's a deliberate effort to knock the kids down a peg or two and remind them that they're still pups with a lot of learning and growing up to do.

A little tough love which I think is needed. Can't let the youngsters' heads get too big. Frankly, this is one instance where I'm glad the twins are still around. They can call out the BS internally and externally with their past performances to back up their words.

Wonder if Taylor Hall would have been a better player already if someone had called out his BS when he started out and running around?

[Cornuck]

Horseshit? Horseshit would be where you say that Polak and Jake are nowhere near the play. Polak is carrying the puck and passes it up the ice, Jake hits him less than 2 seconds later. Polak passes the puck at 18:04 and contact is made a fraction of a second before 18:02.

Seriously? 2 seconds in hockey is an eternity to the rest of us. Jake knew exactly what he was doing and when. Debating the merits of a suspension is one thing, trying to defend a late, blind, retaliation hit is another.

The suspension sucks, and we could bring up dozens of other hits that were worse, but it's not the end of the world. With luck, Jake learns from this and picks his spots better.

I would have been happy with 5 and a game, I'm not surprised or pissed about the suspension, but if the hit had been against a Canuck, you would likely be calling for blood over a hit that was delivered 2 seconds after the play.

[Topper]

Yeah, 2 seconds.

https://www.nhl.com/news/blue-jackets-w ... d/c-796101

[Arachnid]

Yet burns doesn't even get a penalty on late..elbow to Hank a couple games ago...

Hank shud have thanked Virtanen not thrown him under the bus.....or at least reworded his ire.....

And today Benning came out and said they support the league's decision calling Jake's hit late and a blind side hit. Talked about not wanting to take the aggressiveness out of Jake's game but he has to learn where that line is and not cross it. Even though he is suspended he was eligible to travel and practice with the team to SJS and LA. The team decided to keep him home and get him some off ice work.

Sometimes leadership is standing up and calling it like it is, especially for a 19 year old that needs to learn if he wants to stay in the league. No one threw him under the bus. They just called it the way it was.