The league hasn't really been targetting knees lately. The fact that Hall almost appeared to adjust his contact point to avoid the head may actually play in his favour. Also the fact that Clutterbuck injury is to the thigh and not the knee really puts this more into the hip check category.
People are also looking at Hall's wide stance and think it's him sticking out the knee, but just watch him skate in any game, that's just how wide his stance is.
It was a reckless play, but I can't see the league throwing the book at him on a first offense for this unless they justify it for the lateness of the hit.
All that said, I think it is 1 game as a first time offender. The league may bump it up to 2 or 3 for the lateness of the hit, but if they actually consider 5+ games like some are calling for, I'll lose what little faith I have in the league at properly making these calls.
Note that it is only a phone hearing, not an in person meeting, that usually only means a game or a few.
1 game or a fine and nothing is what it should be. But with our luck the league will give Hall 4.
I agree with this.
It wasn't 'clipping', which would have required Hall to hit him on or below the knee. He caught his thigh with his own leg and part of his hip. His obvious intent was to lay a good hip check but, partly due to Clutter*****s motion of trying to kick the puck, he missed the majority of the body and caught the thigh.
Because ClutterF*uck got hurt, probably a game or fine for being careless and missing his target.
Hall definitely sealed his fate for a suspension with his post game comments about how he knew he was in a vulnerable position. Another rookie mistake but I'm sure he'll learn from that in the future.
However as a first time offender it'll likely only be a game or 2.
It was a reckless play, but I can't see the league throwing the book at him on a first offense for this unless they justify it for the lateness of the hit.
I don't think the hit was late. Hall was commited to hitting Clutterbuck when he saw him coming through the zone, that got all ****ed up once Clutter bobbled the puck in his skates.
Posts like this remind us not to judge an entire fanbase on the basis of..that. Cheers!
Cheers. I don't think it was an intent to injure on Hall's part. He doesn't strike me as a dirty player. It was more of a reckless play and a lapse in judgement (and execution), in my opinion. As I stated before, I think a game or two at most.
It was definitely not a "knee" imo. But Lowetide had is right...it was definitely a "clip".
44.1 Clipping - Clipping is the act of throwing the body, from any direction, across or below the knees of an opponent.
A player may not deliver a check in a “clipping” manner, nor lower his own body position to deliver a check on or below an opponent’s knees.
An illegal “low hit” is a check that is delivered by a player or goalkeeper who may or may not have both skates on the ice, with his sole intent to check the opponent in the area of his knees. A player may not lower his body position to deliver a check to an opponent’s knees.
Did you miss the bolded part? Last I saw the thigh isn't below the knees.
Quote:
Originally Posted by joestevens29
So next time, instead Hall should just hit high and take the head?
On ice call seems enough. Won't complain if it's a game or two.
On ice call probably won't come into play as the full penalty wasn't served.
Hall definitely sealed his fate for a suspension with his post game comments about how he knew he was in a vulnerable position. Another rookie mistake but I'm sure he'll learn from that in the future.
However as a first time offender it'll likely only be a game or 2.
I interpret his comments differently, I think what he's trying to say (just not well) is that he saw that he was in a vulnerable position and tried to avoid head contact as it is being drilled into everyone right now. If he had said it more eloquently I think it could have worked in his favour as you can see him getting lower to adjust his contact point to avoid head but it resulted in the clip/knee.
Bad judgement as he probably should have tried to avoid contact if he thought Clutterbuck was vulnerable, but it's hard to change gears that quickly and process several decisions in fractions of a second (don't go high and hit his head, but also don't go too low). That said, as an Oiler fan, I'm happy to see someone finish their check even if it was a little dirty. Hopefully, we see more, but better timed attempts.
I interpret his comments differently, I think what he's trying to say (just not well) is that he saw that he was in a vulnerable position and tried to avoid head contact as it is being drilled into everyone right now. If he had said it more eloquently I think it could have worked in his favour as you can see him getting lower to adjust his contact point to avoid head but it resulted in the clip/knee.
Bad judgement as he probably should have tried to avoid contact if he thought Clutterbuck was vulnerable, but it's hard to change gears that quickly and process several decisions in fractions of a second (don't go high and hit his head, but also don't go too low). That said, as an Oiler fan, I'm happy to see someone finish their check even if it was a little dirty. Hopefully, we see more, but better timed attempts.
That's probably a fair statement hopefully he clears that up in his phone conversation.
here's what the rulebook says about clipping and kneeing:
44.1 Clipping - Clipping is the act of throwing the body, from any direction, across or below the knees of an opponent.
A player may not deliver a check in a “clipping” manner, nor lower his own body position to deliver a check on or below an opponent’s knees.
An illegal “low hit” is a check that is delivered by a player or goalkeeper who may or may not have both skates on the ice, with his sole intent to check the opponent in the area of his knees. A player may not lower his body position to deliver a check to an opponent’s knees.
50.1 Kneeing - Kneeing is the act of a player leading with his knee and in some cases extending his leg outwards to make contact with his opponent.
it looked to me like the point of contact was the Clutterbucks thighs, which could be interpreted as being in the area of (but not at) the knees. Hall did not lower himself to make the hit, although he did have a low stance based on the cut he was making.
regarding kneeing i see a lot of people saying he led with his knee, which is true, but it was his hip that made primary contact.
i don't think that there was an intent to injure, and while the hit was a little late, it was not excessively late by the standards of the NHL
i think the call on the ice was sufficient. at most a fine should be assessed.
If you were to put a picture of clipping in the NHL rule book it would be this one:
That photo has been altered. Look at the length of Hall's legs.
Since he received a game misconduct late in the game, he should get 1 game. If the medical records show the primary point of contact is Clutterbuck's thigh, that pretty much puts the "kneeing" allegation to rest.
