Quote:
Originally Posted by Jgusta21
Mine is probably the last opinion you want to hear right now, but after reading 5 pages of mostly Kings biased views on the hit, I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents from the other side...
Cole's a tough guy to give a break if you're playing against him, he doesn't draw much sympathy. He whines and complains non-stop, and when he's on his game he's a beast to play against. However, one thing he's never been known as is a dirty player. Clearly whether or not the hit was intentional will never be known, but he certainly does not have a history of "dirty" hits, so I'll put that out there first.
Second, while as you all have said that teams have been targeting Doughty lately, if the Canes were to target anyone it'd be JJ, I don't know about the team but the fans certainly haven't forgiven him yet...
Third, let's get to the actual hit. I'd say at the time the puck was gone around a second, and softer hits by the boards are finished a second (sometimes even two seconds) after the puck has left all the time. Viewing the "lateness" of the hit separately from the magnitude of impact, this can be hardly called a "late hit." If it was, all of those hits on the forecheck behind the boards would have to be called as well. It's called finishing a check.
There's nothing against hitting hard in the league, so I'll move to the hit to the head argument. From the angles we've got, it's not apparent whether or not the hit was actually to the head (I know you're angry, but you guys know it's unclear). Whether or not it was doesn't matter if it's unclear on the video. IMO, Cole looked like he was just turning to join the rush, and Doughty had his head down...
While I can agree in principle that this could indeed be a dirty hit, I don't think something that COULD be a dirty hit warrants a suspension. I think it should be like instant replay; unless they see irrefutable evidence, no suspensions should be dished out. I'm not TOO biased as a fan, there have been suspensions of Canes players over the years that I've absolutely agreed with. But I don't think that the video shows enough evidence to warrant a suspension, Especially not an 8 to 10 game one like some of you were suggesting.
I'm not saying that if this was Staal getting hit that I wouldn't react the same as you all would, but I'm pretty sure that if this hit was identical except that it was Doughty on Cole, you guys would be incensed that a suspension was even brought up.
Anyway, there's my 2 cents (might've rambled long enough for it to be considered 3 cents, but whatever). Good luck in the season, and best of wishes to Doughty, as he's one of my favorite players.
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Good post. Smart post. I agree that the video is inconclusive on the point of contact.
My contention with the hit is the timing. I don't think this is the same as the hits you talk about along the boards. I've seen hits this late called as penalties and I've seen this same hit get two and three game suspensions this season. I mostly care about consistency with Colin Campbell, of which I feel he has shown none.
I wanted a 2 game suspension for this hit, because it was late and from the side. I don't think it warranted more. Yes, Doughty started to turn into it, but I count 2.5 seconds from the time Doughty passes the puck to the time he is hit. This brings us to intent.
Its increasingly becoming unclear to me how much intent factors in to suspensions. Sometimes it seems the letter of the law is all that matters and then other times intent becomes a major factor. That bothers me. Did Cole intend to hurt Doughty? Who knows? Did he intend to hit him? Yes. Did he know Doughty didn't have the puck and therefore was not fair game, either the answer is yes or Cole wasn't paying attention to play. Had he known Doughty didn't have the puck for that long, then he should have spun away and not leaned into him. If he didn't know then Cole must have been targeting Doughty the whole way. Again, either one speaks to intent.
Should intent play into suspensions? That's a different argument, but the league should be consistent on the weight of perceived intention.
3 games for Doan when I thought Hjalmarsson's hit was much worse.
2 games for Hjalmarsson when all Wiz did was make a gesture.
I've never liked the way the league handles suspensions and this just reinforces their lack of consistency in my mind.