After this hit… does the NHL hate the Leafs?

Zack Whitecloud just got away penalty free with a hit which knocked Matthew Knies out of the game. We’ll talk the Whitecloud hit on Knies and recap Toronto Maple Leafs vs Vegas Goldenknights on today’s NHL hockey video.

40 comments
  1. Dude, last month OEL made a CLEAN HIP CHECK on an opposing player and not only did he get a penalty for that, he was also fined as supplementary discipline by the DoPS.

    How is this not both: A penalty against the VGK AND a suspension? Was OEL Hip Check THAT monumental, that it is worth a fine even if no one got hurt in the play, over this ridiculous hit?

  2. Feels like when people say a team has to learn how to win in the NHL, what they mean is that they have to learn how to manipulate (or in a player like Marchand's case, outright bribe) the shitty referees and even shittier league execs.

  3. You mean how Knies was skating… like a human? A jump to target the head is always a penalty, you both admit he was targeting the head, and back track…why? NHL paying you off too? For example Reaves hit was cleaner, because he is stick to stick with Nurse, Whitecloud is just aiming for a concussion there is nothing else going on here.

  4. You’re forgetting they are the same height. Both 6’2” and somehow his elbow is in knies face. Somehow this isn’t targeting the head?? I agree with you he’s not jumping. But if you say he isn’t head hunting you are off your rocker

  5. i think the hit is illegal (illegal hit to the head) and should have been a penalty for it. whether its 2 mins or 5 mins i don't know what the rules are for that type of hit (to the head). no suspension or anything, but that hit should have been a penalty and i have no idea how it wasn't

    sure, he wasn't off his skates at the point of contact, no problem. he is still actively jumping, nobody can argue that. thats why his skates are off the ice 1-2 frames after contact is initiated.
    however the first thing he hits is knies' chin. its quite clear on the slow-mo, his head moves before anything else. i don't care if his head wasn't targeted or w/e, his head was hit and it was the first thing hit. thats a f'in penalty.

    if i was berube, after they called that a good clean hockey hit, i'd say "okay boys, all we're giving these guys for the rest of the night is 'good clean hockey hits'. happy hunting!"

    i absolutely LOVED the response by the leafs after this botched call though. it was fantastic. what a difference between the last few years and now.

  6. I don't know what the hell Knies did to piss off the league. Sam Bennett took him out with a full on choke-slam in the Leafs-Panthers series and there wasn't a call then, either. Guess they're just going to keep concussing this kid until he stops getting up.

  7. yeah nah this was absolutely a headshot.

    Even if it was somehow still a "legal" hit despite Whitecloud aiming for and contacting Knies' head, I only have one response to that (which is the same response I use whenever jackasses defend Trouba, Wilson, and their ilk) – Scott Stevens and Marty McSorley mostly threw legal hits for the time period, yet both are rightfully remembered as dangerous piece of shit goons for the careers they ended.

    "Legal" doesn't make it right.

  8. Was knies hit in the head? Yes. But the reaves hit came at a perpendicular angle and was like 80% head 20% body. He clipped him, practically only hit head. In this case, yes the head was the first point of contact but he was leaning forward. Whitecloud hit him right in the chest dead center in the body. The issue is your head is also happens to be in the center of your body.

    I paused the video at the point of contact and Whitecloud elbow is tucked, feet on the ground. Knies was bent over to the point where his nose was at the same height as Whitecloud's chest. If there should have been a penalty on Whitecloud it was for being too tall.

  9. Bull, the league has been suspending anyone who hits a player in the head regardless of this "principle point of contact". The shoulder hit Knies in directly in the face which resulted in him having to leave the game with a concussion. If the Leafs player had been on the other side, it's a match penalty. The NHL is a joke

  10. I cordially despise both teams (I mean, they're not the Bruins, so I wasn't rooting for destruction of the arena by a meteor, but, …) and was watching the game. When I saw the hit, I thought it should be 5 minutes and ejection. I have not changed that opinion.

    The hit was targeted at the head and if you watch about half a second beyond where you stopped the replay, you see that Whitecloud was throwing his elbow in addition to aiming for the head with his shoulder. It was clear intent to injure and should be reviewed overnight for further action. Of course, if the NHL does decide to review, the penalty will be $37.50 Canadian, because DPS.

  11. I'm a Leafs fan and I was completely livid at the hit, the call, the commentary. Knies is one of my favourite Leafs. Slowing it down frame by frame myself after the fact, I came to the same conclusion…except the fact that the head isn't the principal point of contact or is incidental contact.

    The intent is clear on the hit, he has time and lines up Knies. Knies fumbles the puck because of the checking player and looks down for a split second. Whitecloud pops upward and straightens his body, which makes the hit head contact instead of shoulder on shoulder/ body on body. If I'm Knies, I think he's looking to make a hip check. It's an avoidable hit to the head but the checkboxes of the rule-book don't deem it "avoidable". 100% his head hitting the ice could've been the cause of the injury and Knies puts himself in a bad spot by looking down for a split second but it seemed like a predatory hit in response to the Theodore hit-from-behind that went uncalled.

  12. I hate the "incidental contact" argument. If you swing your stick at the puck and make incidental contact with a player's feet, that's still tripping. If you swing at an airborn puck in your own zone and it accidentally goes over the glass, that's still delay of game. So why is the play that involves a head injury the one where we say, "Oh, well it was just an accident so that's okay, nothing to worry about."

  13. This is what gets me. Leaf fans were screaming the Reaves suspension of 5. Then they scream about this hit on Knies. Which is it? Leaf fans have to learn the game and quit whining

  14. The league needs to take a stronger stance on player safety. Especially when it comes to head contact. Developing CTE is not something the league should ignore, and the first step is cracking down on head contact like this.

  15. its the same as the reaves play except nurse was reaching and had his head down…. this hit was intentionally a head targeting… so by the logic, it should be 5 and a game plus a 7 game suspension….. BUT….. reaves is a leaf and this is LV, so no call and no suspension….

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