When Florida Panthers left winger David Booth finally regains full use of his brain and looks at the video, I'm sure he'll agree that the hit he suffered at the hands of Mike Richards of the Flyers would have been less severe had he not admired his pass.
Everyone in the NHL and hockey fans all over are talking about two things so far this week...the Maple Leafs first win and the scary hit by Richards on Booth.
The hit was unavoidable, especially in that dangerous part of the ice but had Booth not watched his pass and been watching where he was going, he could have prepared to take the hit from Richards.
Now...some people feel Richards targeted Booth's head with his shoulder and that may be true but Booth at 6'0" was bent over at the time of the hit. Richards is listed as 5'11" for those wondering.
I have watched the hit several times and in my opinion it was a clean and impressive hit with an unfortunate result. Mike Richards is not a dirty hockey player but he does play hard and that's all he did in this instance. I disagree with the announcers in the clip below saying it was a "cheap" and "dirty hit". Nobody likes to see a player injured but it was a clean, legal hit in my mind.
I think it would be nice to see fewer head shots in hockey but in a fast game where things happen very quickly, I don't think they'll ever be completely eradicated from the game. If seeing incidents like this bother you, then perhaps you should stick to watching golf or baseball.
I've watched it a few times - yes the hit was big and it snapped his head back, but he was not hit on the head (or even above the shoulder). I think that the real damage was done when he cracked his head on the ice.
ReplyDeleteTom Wilson