North Finals: Winnipeg Jets vs Montreal Canadiens

[Invictus]

Good grief Scheifele. I'd suspend him for the rest of the series. I don't think he has the track record to warrant it, nor does the DoPS have much teeth for first time offenders, but the hit itself does. You can't make such an obviously malicious play and see the ice against that opponent again.

This is how I feel. Hockey is so fast a lot can happen in a fraction of time so I temper judgement, but Scheifele had 200ft to see the play develop and everything. Players need to think of other players safety.
Can they do an unarbitrary number like rest of playoffs?

DOPS a lot of times also factor in the referee's call on ice, which is so irrelevant in the last minute of the game. A 2 minute penalty is no different than a 50 minute penalty.

[PenguinHunter]

This is how I feel. Hockey is so fast a lot can happen in a fraction of time so I temper judgement, but Scheifele had 200ft to see the play develop and everything. Players need to think of other players safety.
Can they do an unarbitrary number like rest of playoffs?

they have done that before. With Kadri when he was with the Leafs against the Bruins. He got suspended for the remainder of the series against Boston. So I could see them doing something of sorts. I don’t think it has to be a certain number of games.

[Invictus]

they have done that before. With Kadri when he was with the Leafs against the Bruins. He got suspended for the remainder of the series against Boston. So I could see them doing something of sorts. I don’t think it has to be a certain number of games.

Okay, couldnt remember if they just said end of series for that or if his suspension length just coincided with series end.

[tweetdrivr]

#NHLJets coach Paul Maurice, on Mark Scheifele's hit on Jake Evans: "Hopefully the young man's going to be alright. It's such a highly unusual play. You're backchecking back to kill an empty-net play, you're coming at full speed."

Maurice is a piece of shit. Schiefle is a piece of shit. Hrudy is a piece of shit. Ehlers is a good man for protecting the unconscious Evans. Scheifle deserves 20 games.

[Invictus]

What did Hrudy do?

[tweetdrivr]

What did Hrudy do?

Said he deserves one game.

[chuckcouples]

I'm going to get hated for this but here's a question for everyone who hates the Scheifele hit on Evans...what written rule did Scheifele break in making that hit? On what grounds should the NHL suspend him?

1) It wasn't a charge. Scheifele took about 1 stride from the blue line in and he had both feet on the ice when he made the hit.
2) It wasn't late. Evans had the puck only moments before getting hit.
3) It wasn't a hit to the head as defined by the rules as Scheifele goes right through Evans chest (head was not picked, Evans put himself in a position where head contact on an otherwise full body check was unavoidable)
4) It wasn't an elbow as Scheifele hit Evans squarely with his shoulder
5) It wasn't boarding as Evans did not touch the boards.
6) It wasn't a high stick.

Do I think Scheifele should have made that hit? No. Was it a terrible outcome? Yes. However, I don't see any way the NHL suspends him for what was, according to the entire NHL rule book, a perfectly legal body check. If anything, the NHL is going to rescind the major penalty since there was no reason for it to be a penalty besides the fact that the game was over and Evans was carted off on a stretcher.

[Invictus]

Attempt to injure.

There was no way Scheifele was winning that race, the puck was in the net. In fact stick checking would of been his best hope to stop the goal, but instead decides to drive through Evans who was in a vulnerable position. Evans was way ahead of the play giving Scheifele had all the time in the world to think of the play and knew exactly what he was doing. All the time in the world to avoid the hit.
Onus is on Scheifele to recognize Evans is in a vulnerable position and completely failed to do this given all the time in the world.

[hockeymanG23]

I'm going to get hated for this but here's a question for everyone who hates the Scheifele hit on Evans...what written rule did Scheifele break in making that hit? On what grounds should the NHL suspend him?

1) It wasn't a charge. Scheifele took about 1 stride from the blue line in and he had both feet on the ice when he made the hit.
2) It wasn't late. Evans had the puck only moments before getting hit.
3) It wasn't a hit to the head as defined by the rules as Scheifele goes right through Evans chest (head was not picked, Evans put himself in a position where head contact on an otherwise full body check was unavoidable)
4) It wasn't an elbow as Scheifele hit Evans squarely with his shoulder
5) It wasn't boarding as Evans did not touch the boards.
6) It wasn't a high stick.

Do I think Scheifele should have made that hit? No. Was it a terrible outcome? Yes. However, I don't see any way the NHL suspends him for what was, according to the entire NHL rule book, a perfectly legal body check. If anything, the NHL is going to rescind the major penalty since there was no reason for it to be a penalty besides the fact that the game was over and Evans was carted off on a stretcher.

Attempt to injure.

There was no way Scheifele was winning that race, the puck was in the net. In fact stick checking would of been his best hope to stop the goal, but instead decides to drive through Evans who was in a vulnerable position. Evans was way ahead of the play giving Scheifele had all the time in the world to think of the play and knew exactly what he was doing. All the time in the world to avoid the hit.
Onus is on Scheifele to recognize Evans is in a vulnerable position and completely failed to do this given all the time in the world.

Bolded portion, Bingo. Leaves room for the NHL to maneuver .

I'm not sure exactly what charging is defined as but I would consider the hit to be that primarily. Sure, Scheifele only took a few strides immediately prior to the hit but it also looked like he already had almost all the speed he could muster by the time he made the blue line, the result of the impact reflects that. A full grown man doesn't get tossed like Evans did without some serious momentum.

[blayze]

Should be five games at least.

Puck was already in the net before he got there. It was clear as day he wouldnt be able to stop the goal. He did not let up one single bit. Clearly he was frustrated and saw an opportunity to take it out on Evans.

I used to be a fan of Scheif but now I think he's a piece of shit.

[chuckcouples]

The NHL rulebook says, "A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner."

By definition, the NHL could definitely use this rule as a grounds for suspension. But there is zero chance of that happening. Gary Bettman is a lawyer who still thinks like a lawyer. A suspension for attempting to injure a player without breaking any other rules would never stand up to an appeal. The appeal would go something like this:

"Defense Lawyer": Mr Scheifele, did you try to hurt Mr Evans when you hit him?
Mark Scheifele: I did not. I saw the puck carrier was attempting to put the puck in our net so I tried to separate himfrom the puck.
"Defense Lawyer": No further questions your honour.

Appeals Judge: It is clear to me that there was no attempt to injure therefore any suspension must be repealed.

[forumname]

Wow, the "piece of shit" nametag is sure getting thrown around a lot in here.

[Invictus]

The NHL rulebook says, "A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner."

By definition, the NHL could definitely use this rule as a grounds for suspension. But there is zero chance of that happening. Gary Bettman is a lawyer who still thinks like a lawyer. A suspension for attempting to injure a player without breaking any other rules would never stand up to an appeal. The appeal would go something like this:

"Defense Lawyer": Mr Scheifele, did you try to hurt Mr Evans when you hit him?
Mark Scheifele: I did not. I saw the puck carrier was attempting to put the puck in our net so I tried to separate himfrom the puck.
"Defense Lawyer": No further questions your honour.

Appeals Judge: It is clear to me that there was no attempt to injure therefore any suspension must be repealed.

Lol it's not that easy.
They are professionals and Scheifele knew full well what he was doing. Frustration got the better of him and made a poor judgement call. I don't think one play makes him a dirty player, but that was reckless.

[DusterDave]

Wow, the "piece of shit" nametag is sure getting thrown around a lot in here.

No kidding. Add my name to that list I guess. The end result was unfortunate but it’s a clean hit. Scheifele takes a stride as he crosses the blue line, then glides the rest of the way so I can’t consider that charging. Hit is clean to the chest, no head shot or elbow and it wasn’t late. Anyone who is calling this a late hit has blinders on. We see this hit multiple times each and every game. A player passes or shoots the puck off and get hit less than a second later, which is what happens here.

Now consider the context. One goal game in the playoffs. If Scheifele prevents that goal with a full minute left on the board, anything could have happened. Someone made the point of Scheifele would have been better off using his stick to prevent the goal, and they are absolutely right. A stick check likely would have been more effective, but he chose to use his body instead, which is allowed.

And finally, the intent to injure. Sure does seem like Scheifele had some intent, and on that alone I can see him getting a suspension, but other than that, it was a clean hit with an unfortunate outcome for Evans. You are also kidding yourself if you don’t think the intent to injure doesn’t happen in almost every game.

Now I will step down and receive my roast for having a differing opinion.


Edit: Before anyone goes off the rails and accuses me of having this opinion based on being a bitter Leafs fan, don’t. I am a very bitter Leafs fan, yes. But I would never want to see a player get seriously injured just because he plays for a team I don’t like, or base my opinions on which teams or players are in question, with the exception of Marchand. I was actually happy for MTL, well deserved victory over Toronto. Edit rant over.

[GinFizz]

No kidding. Add my name to that list I guess. The end result was unfortunate but it’s a clean hit. Scheifele takes a stride as he crosses the blue line, then glides the rest of the way so I can’t consider that charging. Hit is clean to the chest, no head shot or elbow and it wasn’t late. Anyone who is calling this a late hit has blinders on. We see this hit multiple times each and every game. A player passes or shoots the puck off and get hit less than a second later, which is what happens here.

Now consider the context. One goal game in the playoffs. If Scheifele prevents that goal with a full minute left on the board, anything could have happened. Someone made the point of Scheifele would have been better off using his stick to prevent the goal, and they are absolutely right. A stick check likely would have been more effective, but he chose to use his body instead, which is allowed.

And finally, the intent to injure. Sure does seem like Scheifele had some intent, and on that alone I can see him getting a suspension, but other than that, it was a clean hit with an unfortunate outcome for Evans. You are also kidding yourself if you don’t think the intent to injure doesn’t happen in almost every game.

Now I will step down and receive my roast for having a differing opinion.

well said and I agree.