Here Comes the Headshots Debate

Written by Wayne Coristine

Saturday was a busy night for hockey. And yet, one play really stands out and will for quite some time as evidence in the debate of the headshots epidemic some argue is taking over the NHL. In a game between the Florida Panthers and Flyers in Philadelphia, Panthers sniper David Booth crossed the blue line, dished the puck to a line mate and was caught looking the wrong way when Philly captain Mike Richards nailed him with an open ice check. Watch this clip of the hit to form your opinion of it before I explain mine.

A few things come to mind when you watch this play…starting with "holy shit!" then wondering if Richards: a) left his feet, b) used his elbow, c) was it a deliberate hit to the head d) was it late, and e) is Booth going to live?

I watched the hit several times, and it's obvious Richards had his back foot in the air when he hit Booth, but his front foot is firmly planted. Only after the hit do both Richards' feet leave the ice…because that's part of falling down after a big check. As for the elbow, not only does it not come up, but Richards actually leads the hit with the back
of his shoulder, so the elbow is never an issue.

Figuring out if it is a deliberate shot to the head is the hardest part of the dissection. Richards does what almost all big hitters of this era do. He hits up, rather than through his opponent. However, that doesn't necessarily mean he was targeting Booth's head. Booth was in a bit of a vulnerable position because he made one small error on his backhand pass. As soon as he released the puck as he cuts to the middle of the ice, he turns his head back to watch the pass. So now, he's looking one way and going the other and Mike Richards had him in the tracks. If Booth doesn't make that little peak, chances are he still gets clobbered…but is able to brace himself a bit. As for Richards hitting up on Booth, it definitely happens a little bit, but it's not as severe as these hits by notorious open ice hitters like Dion Phaneuf and Niklas Kronwall.

The other major controversy about this hit is the perception that it was late. Well, if you count the time on the slow motion replay, it certainly seems late. However, in real time, it's less than a second. In fact, Steve Kouleas from The Score broke down the video frame by frame and it was less than half a second from the time Booth passed the puck and got hit. What's that mean? It means it's a legal play in that regard.

As for Booth, he's concussed and his return date will depend on how he responds to treatment, previous concussion history and outside of confirming that he will indeed live, there is no way to say how long he will be out of the Panthers' lineup.

Getting back to the hit itself, it's not unlike the 2006 Playoffs when RJ Umberger was caught looking down by Brian Campbell or the hit last Wednesday by Willie Mitchell on Jonathan Toews.

It all three cases, the player with the puck looks down momentarily after the puck leaves his stick and unfortunately takes a shoulder check to the chin. Does it make the hits dirty? No. The hits are both textbook open ice hits and would have been deemed so in any era. So, why is it today that a hit like the one we saw on Saturday was considered so vicious, so damaging and the topic of message boards, sports show debates and blogs like this one about whether or not Richards deserved a suspension and whether the NHL needs a rule specifically to penalize hits to the head?

For starters, Richards received a five minute major for interference and a game misconduct for intent to injure, so it wasn't as if he got away free of punishment. The biggest issue on hits like this is how the recipient leaves the ice. In this case, David Booth left on a stretcher with a concussion after laying motionless for a few minutes. Obviously, no one wants to see ever see that, but where are we supposed to attribute the blame if a textbook body check in open ice ends with a stretcher? And how come we are seeing this more often now than any other time in hockey history?

My first thought takes me to the shoulder and elbow pad section of any sports store. It's obvious that equipment is safer now than ever should you fall on your elbow or shoulder or tailbone, etc. However, in hockey players hit each other with their shoulders, and although illegal, elbows. So that means that the very same hard, moulded plastic caps designed to save injuries to the shoulders and elbows likely will contact another player during any given game.

But there's more to the issue than just the gear itself. The players in the NHL today – outside of some of the older players in the twilight of their careers – all grew up playing fully decked out with plastic shoulder and elbow pads, along with helmets with full face shields and mouth guards. Now, I'm not saying this is a bad thing…I played in all that same stuff and am quite happy I did. However, it does change the mentality of players a little bit. From a young age, these guys knew they were covered head to toe in protective equipment and as a result, a level of invincibility entered the game. In minor hockey, a shoulder to the chin would hit a cage, not the face itself, thus protecting the player from the full force of the hit. The same goes for the lightweight composite sticks. The players in minor hockey may take a stick to the face, but the cage protects them from the cuts we see at the pro level…and unfortunately, bad habits die hard so when the select few make it to the big leagues, they're completely used to hitting cages with shoulders, elbows and sticks that it translates up each level.

The other issue is size. At some point in the last 15 or 20 years, professional hockey put an emphasis on bigger players and it's not just height. Players are now entering the league at 18-21 years old and considered slight if they don't weigh close to 200 lbs. Of course, this filters into junior and minor hockey, with players working out specifically to add bulk in hopes to get noticed and make the next step. What is normal in the NHL now was considered big not too long ago.

So…what does it all mean and how does it all relate to the Mike Richards hit on David Booth? Richards hit was no more malicious than the big open ice hits of the 60's, 70's, 80's or early 90's. However, because he's heavier at 5'10" than most players that height in those eras, combined with wearing harder equipment than players from back then, the effects were bound to be worse. Combine that with the slight upswing hitting style prevalent in the NHL today means we are going to see more players carted off the ice and into ambulances rather than skating to the bench…whether the league adds a rule against shoulder-to-head hits or not.