Downie hit on Deam McAmmond

[The Franchise]

This guy will be suspended for a long time, plua he was caught on tape laughing while McAmmond was being taking off the ice.

Hope this works......TSN.ca - The CTV Broadband Network

Just hit play on McAmmond hit

[Dude]

Wow...gotta say that is one of the ugliest I've seen in a long, long time.

[johnnybluenose]

Listen, the only thing wrong with this hit is that he tried to hurt someone.
He was pissed off that Christoph Schubert got him with a blindsider. If you are trying to make an elite team (Which I have done playing hockey in my life) you have do something that sets you apart from everyone on the ice that has already proven themselves...Same rules apply to the soccer community- if you just go out and 'do the job' when trying to make a team you will be cut...you need to do something top elevate above the rest- to get noticed. Whether it is a nice goal, beating a guy up, making a couple of big hits, demonstrating an excellent skating ability etc.

I am a McAmmond fan, back when he was a first or second year player I went to a summer hockey camp where he was one of the instructors...That next year I got a signed hockey card and a birthday card from him...He is a class act and a true long time NHL pro...I think it is terrible what has happened to him with the concussion he suffered at the close of last season, and to start this season off with one is tragic.

Steven Downie made a tough and hard hockey play that most bubble guys try to make. Downie has and always will be a playmaker, whether it is scoring a big goal against the USA or Russia in a gold medal game, making a huge hit on Evgeni Malkin who is twice his size to effectively remove him and his psyche from a game, or by willing his Peterborough Petes to an OHL final.

If Matt Cooke could hit the way Downie can he would have done this three or four times now...Cooke has the same character, just not as skilled, or as good a skater (and thus not as good a hitter, hitting doesn;t come from strength, it comes from your skating ability, which made Michael Peca the most dangerous open ice hitter in the NHL through the mid to late 90's at 5'10 and a touch over 180 at best)

He left his feet either right as he made contact or just after, it wasn;t like he was horizontal as he landed the blow to his head.
He did not charge (Meaning he coasted into the hit, he wasn't striding, other than the fact that he did leave his feet, when he did will probably have a lot to do with any suspension he receives)

McAmmond had his head down, and was breaking the Cardinal Rule of hockey- Never admire your pass, the rule isn;t 'keep your head up' or 'don;t showboat' the rule is never admire your pass, anyone who has played any Junior hockey or Semi Pro hockey will stress that...You know how much it enrages teammates on the pitch when someone makes a nice pass or plays a nice ball and admires it rather than getting back into free space...

This is being trumped up in the media as one of the Chicken Shit moves of all time, right up there with recent events like McSorley v Brashear, Brooks Orpick's hit on Erik Cole, Bertuzzi's blindside bludgeoning of Steve Moore, and Chris Simons assult on Brian Holweg. And I think that is pretty unfair. And for Brian MCGratton to call him out in the media as a dirty player is a touch of pot calling the kettle black, at Least Downie may score a goal here and there during his NHL career.

Fact is it was a hard nosed play b y a guy trying to make the team.

The only line he crossed was that he was pissed off and intended to hurt someone.

The NHL rulebook has no rule against putting your shoulder into or through an opposition players face, and thus far, the NHL has done absolutely zero about 'Headshots'

I think the hit was dirty...But the only rule he broke was he intended to injure, and he received a match penalty for it- whick carries an indefinate suspension pending NHL review by Murray and Campbell.

I think he should only receive around 4-5 games considering the suspensions that surrounded the Circus acts I mentioned above.

The NHL NEEDS to address Headshots. But like Chris Pronger said- There is no rule against them...Untill there is (and there should be) A shoulder to the Jaw is still a good, hard nosed, hockey play.

[Dude]

I will agree with a lot of things you've stated about Downie, except this; his skates are deffinitely about a foot/1.5 feet off the ice when he makes contact. It wasn't on the follow through.

I would in no way classify this as chicken shit...he seemed perfectly willing to pay the price and he would again. One thing he is not is a chicken.

I agree that the hit intended to injure, which makes it dirty.

But...man, what a hit!

[Dapotayto]

To me it was a little dirty as I do believe he left his feet and had intent to injure. I don't feel it was near being on par with any of the well-known cheapshots of recent times though (McSorley, Bertuzzi, etc.). One would think that McAmmond, with all his experience, would have been well aware of that particular location as a hotspot for getting labelled and kept abreast (love that word) of his surroundings and the impending freight train coming down the tunnel. Maybe Downie should have gave a couple blasts on the train's whistle before running him down!

[bandcamp]

So why can you not leave your feet...what's the rationale behind the rule? You lose all your power as soon as you're airborne - laws of physics and all that - so why do it? You are much more powerful when you stay on your skates. Is it because they don't want you to get elevated to where the head is? If so, why are hits to the head not outlawed?

That hit was SO dirty, whether the rule book says so or not. Imagine if he stayed on his skates and really hit him

[johnnybluenose]

Originally Posted by bandcamp

So why can you not leave your feet...what's the rationale behind the rule? You lose all your power as soon as you're airborne - laws of physics and all that - so why do it? You are much more powerful when you stay on your skates. Is it because they don't want you to get elevated to where the head is? If so, why are hits to the head not outlawed?

That hit was SO dirty, whether the rule book says so or not. Imagine if he stayed on his skates and really hit him

If you have ever played hockey or knew anything about hockey you would know why it is dangerous to leave the ice and go airborne. When you look at average heights, a shoulder that would land in the chest or somewhere else in the torso is now landing in the neck/head area, which is dangerous to say the least, especially with elbow and shoulderpads now having hard plastic pads on top of the foam base with a thin layer of drifit material or nylon instead of the old sponge/foam covered by leather or thick vinyl(ish) material.

The hit was dirty, but the NHL does nothing to encourage coaches to keep their players from making headshots, and does nothing to sanction guys on headshots.

Hits to the head have never been outlawed because of the ol tough guy mentality that 'you have to keep your head up' But soon the NHL will have do something about headshots the way the NFL has gone to protect quarterbacks from hits that come late and headshots period.

I honestly think it will take someone dying to make these lawyers that run this league to take a long hard look at some of the rules as well as the business end of it...

[Guinness]

Personally, I like the way Downie plays... Typical Canadian; fast, skilled, tough and plays bigger than his size... That said this was a dirty hit because he left his feet... McAmmond had his head down and Downie was just looking for revenge on the hit he took... He is trying to make the team, I get that, but don't become a Chris Pronger!!! He is the dirtiest player in the league... Hopefully, Downie will learn from this and continue his physical play in a more acceptable fashion...

4-5 games max. We can't possibly put a body check gone air born in the same category as Simon or McSorely...

[bandcamp]

Originally Posted by johnnybluenose

If you have ever played hockey or knew anything about hockey you would know why it is dangerous to leave the ice and go airborne. When you look at average heights, a shoulder that would land in the chest or somewhere else in the torso is now landing in the neck/head area, which is dangerous to say the least, especially with elbow and shoulderpads now having hard plastic pads on top of the foam base with a thin layer of drifit material or nylon instead of the old sponge/foam covered by leather or thick vinyl(ish) material.

Oh spare me the geometry lesson and the 'I used to be really good at hockey' routine. Who wasn't in this country.

My question is about why there no rule about hits to the head and why do players leave their feet? I get it if a shorter player feels he needs to jump (Downie being a perfect example) but a taller player can get a hit to the head with way more power without leaving his feet. Isn't this really just a rule discriminating against short players? What's that song by Randy Newman again? Oh yeah:

Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live

They got little hands
And little eyes
And they walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by johnnybluenose

Listen, the only thing wrong with this hit is that he tried to hurt someone.
He was pissed off that Christoph Schubert got him with a blindsider. If you are trying to make an elite team (Which I have done playing hockey in my life) you have do something that sets you apart from everyone on the ice that has already proven themselves...Same rules apply to the soccer community- if you just go out and 'do the job' when trying to make a team you will be cut...you need to do something top elevate above the rest- to get noticed. Whether it is a nice goal, beating a guy up, making a couple of big hits, demonstrating an excellent skating ability etc.

I am a McAmmond fan, back when he was a first or second year player I went to a summer hockey camp where he was one of the instructors...That next year I got a signed hockey card and a birthday card from him...He is a class act and a true long time NHL pro...I think it is terrible what has happened to him with the concussion he suffered at the close of last season, and to start this season off with one is tragic.

Steven Downie made a tough and hard hockey play that most bubble guys try to make. Downie has and always will be a playmaker, whether it is scoring a big goal against the USA or Russia in a gold medal game, making a huge hit on Evgeni Malkin who is twice his size to effectively remove him and his psyche from a game, or by willing his Peterborough Petes to an OHL final.

If Matt Cooke could hit the way Downie can he would have done this three or four times now...Cooke has the same character, just not as skilled, or as good a skater (and thus not as good a hitter, hitting doesn;t come from strength, it comes from your skating ability, which made Michael Peca the most dangerous open ice hitter in the NHL through the mid to late 90's at 5'10 and a touch over 180 at best)

He left his feet either right as he made contact or just after, it wasn;t like he was horizontal as he landed the blow to his head.
He did not charge (Meaning he coasted into the hit, he wasn't striding, other than the fact that he did leave his feet, when he did will probably have a lot to do with any suspension he receives)

McAmmond had his head down, and was breaking the Cardinal Rule of hockey- Never admire your pass, the rule isn;t 'keep your head up' or 'don;t showboat' the rule is never admire your pass, anyone who has played any Junior hockey or Semi Pro hockey will stress that...You know how much it enrages teammates on the pitch when someone makes a nice pass or plays a nice ball and admires it rather than getting back into free space...

This is being trumped up in the media as one of the Chicken Shit moves of all time, right up there with recent events like McSorley v Brashear, Brooks Orpick's hit on Erik Cole, Bertuzzi's blindside bludgeoning of Steve Moore, and Chris Simons assult on Brian Holweg. And I think that is pretty unfair. And for Brian MCGratton to call him out in the media as a dirty player is a touch of pot calling the kettle black, at Least Downie may score a goal here and there during his NHL career.

Fact is it was a hard nosed play b y a guy trying to make the team.

The only line he crossed was that he was pissed off and intended to hurt someone.

The NHL rulebook has no rule against putting your shoulder into or through an opposition players face, and thus far, the NHL has done absolutely zero about 'Headshots'

I think the hit was dirty...But the only rule he broke was he intended to injure, and he received a match penalty for it- whick carries an indefinate suspension pending NHL review by Murray and Campbell.

I think he should only receive around 4-5 games considering the suspensions that surrounded the Circus acts I mentioned above.

The NHL NEEDS to address Headshots. But like Chris Pronger said- There is no rule against them...Untill there is (and there should be) A shoulder to the Jaw is still a good, hard nosed, hockey play.

He jumped when he hit him meathead, it was dirty!

[johnnybluenose]

bandcamp, basically players are bigger, faster, stronger.
There has never been a need to eliminate headshots in the past as concussions (or having 'your bell rung') were way more infrequent.

Equipment and fitness advances are probably why the guys are faster.

Headshots should be eliminated- leaving your feet is part of the definition of charging. Charging is either:
a)Leaving your feet to make a hit
b)Not coasting into the hit, you need to stop striding, if you are pumping your legs the same time you deliver contact it is charging.

[johnnybluenose]

Originally Posted by The Franchise

He jumped when he hit him meathead, it was dirty!

3rd to last paragraph in my first post meathead
and I quote a smart man (myself)
'I think the hit was dirty...'

[Hands of Stone]

He's a Good Canadian Kid, you are welcome to come and play with the Mighty Rangers, we could get a little tougher.

Coaches Corner

[johnnybluenose]

Unreal. They gave Downie 20 games.

Brooks Orpik receved 3 games for Breaking Erik Coles Neck (Way worse than this)
Simon received 25 for his golf swing on Holwegs face (Way Way Waaaay Worse than this)

Unless The NHL is going to admit now that it is Downie and not Pronger (his two in the playoffs last Spring) and that they intend to crack down.

2 sets of rules. Sickening.

I feel 10 would have been the harshest...

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by johnnybluenose

Unreal. They gave Downie 20 games.

Brooks Orpik receved 3 games for Breaking Erik Coles Neck (Way worse than this)
Simon received 25 for his golf swing on Holwegs face (Way Way Waaaay Worse than this)

Unless The NHL is going to admit now that it is Downie and not Pronger (his two in the playoffs last Spring) and that they intend to crack down.

2 sets of rules. Sickening.

I feel 10 would have been the harshest...

There was no written head shot rule till now...they are using him as an example to lower head shot hits

[bandcamp]

Originally Posted by johnnybluenose

2 sets of rules. Sickening.

What's sickening is the hit he threw and good on the league for throwing out precendent, if there was any (I don't know or care), and hucking the book at him. I don't have a problem with 20 games.