Toews

[jcairns]

The meathead side of me wanted revenge.
But the truth is: You gotta keep your head up down deep like that.
I'm actually hoping its a shoulder and not (yet another) concussion issue.

He's had concussions in the past?

[Wink]

Confirmed Oct 2009, and Feb 2012.
Suspected a number of other times... including some scuttlebutt that he may have suffered one or more at North Dakota.

http://http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-09/sports/ct-spt-0310-web-toews-blackhawks-chicago--20120310_1_canucks-willie-mitchell-jonathan-toews-hawks-captain

[Shiva Blaster]

I don't think this is a concussion. It was clearly his left arm/shoulder that was the issue after the hit.

[fulcrum]

I will be surprised of there isn't a ruling from the league. There was definitely contact with the head, in fact I think it was the initial point of contact. NHL needs to start protecting against these hits. Orpik throws his hits around like crazy, and borders on reckless.

[Shiva Blaster]

I will be surprised of there isn't a ruling from the league. There was definitely contact with the head, in fact I think it was the initial point of contact. NHL needs to start protecting against these hits. Orpik throws his hits around like crazy, and borders on reckless.

Hit was clean, league already said there will be no discipline. It's impossible not to have some contact to the head when the player being hit has their head right down staring at a puck in their skates. Orpik tucked in his elbow and shoulder and the head was not the principle point of contact......initial contact was shoulder to shoulder. Good hard clean hit, Toews assumes responsibility here, gotta keep your head up plain and simple.

[fulcrum]

I hadn't heard anything about them not having a further ruling. Still disagree. No need to hit a guy like that. I more disagree with where the NHL has gone with the hits. It makes no sense that you get to take a run at a guy like that, especially when it accomplished nothing. No attempt to take the puck at all. Just a free run to hit someone as hard as you can.

[Shiva Blaster]

I hadn't heard anything about them not having a further ruling. Still disagree. No need to hit a guy like that. I more disagree with where the NHL has gone with the hits. It makes no sense that you get to take a run at a guy like that, especially when it accomplished nothing. No attempt to take the puck at all. Just a free run to hit someone as hard as you can.

Again, if Toews had his head up and protected himself, this would be a non-issue. The onus is on the players to protect themselves.....this is a contact sport. Laying blame on a player for taking a hit that was offered up on a silver platter is irresponsible IMO. Toews has to know who is on the ice, and had to be aware with his head up...pretty simple IMO. He's in the middle of a heated game with the puck in his skates in the offensive zone.....what the heck does he expect is gonna happen???? Orpik is a hitter and the hit was not late, (nor was it a charge, so you can't accuse him of 'taking a run' at Toews as he actually let up a bit and could have hit him a lot harder) so whether or not he went for the puck is irrelevant. Orpik was just doing his job and playing his game by taking Toews out of the play with a clean and legal hit. Tough for Toews to score or make a pass when he's on his keister, which is why the hit was delivered. If Orpik doesn't take the hit, and instead gets dangled when Toews finds the puck, he's probably riding pine for not taking the body.

This is a CONTACT sport, where body-checks are legal. I'm all for taking dangerous head shots and hits-from-behind out of the game, but people need to calm down where there is a good, clean, old-fashioned, open-ice hit......one of the best aspects of our game which I love to see. If this was a 3rd liner that got hit, we wouldn't be talking about it. Because it's Toews, people want to accuse Orpik of being dirty.

[fulcrum]

....I see no point to the hit. What did it accomplish in the game other than to injure someone. Thats my only point. Hits went from removing someone from the puck to a free-for-all, hit them as hard as you can. And thats why borderline players are employed.
sigh.....I realize its part of the game, but I like it less and less all the time. Just getting old I guess. Cheers dude.

[Shiva Blaster]

....I see no point to the hit. What did it accomplish in the game other than to injure someone. Thats my only point. Hits went from removing someone from the puck to a free-for-all, hit them as hard as you can. And thats why borderline players are employed.
sigh.....I realize its part of the game, but I like it less and less all the time. Just getting old I guess. Cheers dude.

Orpik is not a borderline player. And the point of the hit was to separate Toews from the puck and put him on his back-side to eliminate him from the play, as I explained in my last post. I played a high level of hockey all the way through and every coach I ever had was adamant about finishing your checks, and if you had a chance to put a guy on his back-side (legally), especially one of the opposing team's best players, to do so. That's how you establish your team as one that is hard to play against, and gets opposing players thinking twice before dangling or putting their head down in the neautral zone/opposing end. Also, it's tough for a player to pass, score, or back-check when he's picking himself up off the ice after a good, hard, legal hit. Any coach I ever had from peewee on up would have sat me if I didn't finish that hit, and I'm sure Orpik would have heard about it too if he didn't. Playoffs start in 2 weeks. If you don't think players are hitting to hurt in the playoffs, you're kidding yourself....they aren't gonna be throwing the body at every opportunity because it tickles.

Guys like Pronger, Hatcher, and Stevens didn't become great/Hall of Fame players by passing up hits like that and playing the puck just cause some do-do star on the opposite team has their head down when it shouldn't be. I'm not sure what getting old has to do with it, many of the old-school dmen hit to hurt a lot worse than most of the dmen today. Also, football or rugby players don't catch heat for hitting a guy "too hard" within the rules, and hockey should be no different.

[fulcrum]

relax man. I get it.
I don't like it and I will never agree with you. Save your breath.

[Shiva Blaster]

relax man. I get it.
I don't like it and I will never agree with you. Save your breath.

Oh, I'm relaxed. Just don't get it when people get up in arms about plays fully within the rules and accuse players of being dirty when they aren't. Accusing players of being dirty and criticizing them for laying a hit fully within the rules of the game isn't right.

If you don't like good, hard hits, you should stick to watching the woman's game IMO, especially during the NHL playoffs, because there is about to be about 3x more of them. Watching a contact sport and bitching about too much legal contact is just silly.

[mounD]

....I see no point to the hit. What did it accomplish in the game other than to injure someone. Thats my only point. Hits went from removing someone from the puck to a free-for-all, hit them as hard as you can. And thats why borderline players are employed.
sigh.....I realize its part of the game, but I like it less and less all the time. Just getting old I guess. Cheers dude.

Orpik took Toews out of the play, the most fundamental part of being a defender. Taking the body, not fishing for the puck, taking your man and making sure he does not beat you and make a play. That's playing Defense 101, dude. Seems pretty darn silly, indeed, to say that Orpik's hit had no purpose. That's one of the most misguided statements I've seen on these boards. Toews fanboy status.

[Shiva Blaster]

Orpik took Toews out of the play, the most fundamental part of being a defender. Taking the body, not fishing for the puck, taking your man and making sure he does not beat you and make a play. That's playing Defense 101, dude.

Thank you for being a voice of reason in this thread. I have a feeling most of the people crying about that being a dirty/unnecessary hit are Toews/Hawks homers that have hurt feelings because their Captain is likely going to miss some time. I'm not a fan of either team involved, but as a hockey fan, I love seeing those big clean open-ice hits.....can't wait for some intense, physical playoff hockey!

[hammer2003]

I hate Sunday injuries. Start Toews this week or not (no daily subs)? Replacement would be Granlund who's fading a bit and has a tough schedule.

[Shake]

I hate Sunday injuries. Start Toews this week or not (no daily subs)? Replacement would be Granlund who's fading a bit and has a tough schedule.

No. Absolutely do not start Toews this week. He will not play this week.