http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29FYzqsfAUE

The NHL hasn't suspended, or fined Richards for this... and their statement believe it or not is as follows...

"According to NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy, who was in charge of making the final ruling, there were a number of reasons that led to the decision not to suspend Richards: he did not target Booth's head; he did not leave his feet to deliver the blow; he did not hit an unsuspecting player; he is not a repeat offender; and he did not hit Booth late, as it was determined the blow was delivered less than a half-second after Booth passed the puck"

- He DIDNT target his head???? erm, he did it looks plain to me, damn near took his jaw off

- He didnt hit an unsuspecting player??? erm he did, Booth probably got his head back around in time to see a shoulderpad a millimeter from his nose...

- He isnt a repeat offender???? erm he is, think i remember him taking Ronald Petrovicky's head off for Atlanta a season or so ago - a hit he DID leave his feet for

Its not "technically" a late hit, neither was Tuckers on Peca, however its cheap..

Personally i think its pretty dirty, he WOULDNT hit someone like Chris neil like that, blindside and headhunting, also the Flyers were something like 4-1 to the good so why he has to take his head off I've no idea.

I love hitting, its one of the best parts of the sport, but headhunting like this... with things like the instigation rule, make hits like this go unpunished because Bettman/Campbell etc are all pussies protecting the better players of the league...

Alot of people like Mike Richards because he has a hard edge to his game, he is a heavy hitter (which is great) scores goals and makes great plays, but he is a very borderline hitter in my opinion.

so glad the league decided to clean up the game. It has really done wonders for the sport.

If you played the game, you'd accept that as a clean hit.


His arm was tucked, his skates were on the ice.

Horton put himself in a terrible position.

IF YOU DON'T WANT YOUR HEAD KNOCKED OFF, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP.

He came from behind him and put a shoulder on his jaw. If he puts his shoulder in his chest its one thing. That's clearly a dirty hit.

On what f#@king planet? :blink:

People have such a bias... i guess cause it's a division rival.

This is the same hit Weight laid on Sutter's kid last season.

Bias? Wtf are you talking about?

I don't even know who it was. Watch it...draw a line straight up from the player who got hit...where does the hitter come from...the right of that line. He came from behind him and sideswiped him. His shoulder hit him in the chin. There's no way that's clean. I'll hit you like that and see how you feel afterwards.

Hit him straight up..trying to sneak up on someone is cheap and dangerous.

how can anyone defend that hit. the guy did have his head up. this moron richards not only came from the blinsdie but he put so much force behind his shoulder (which he aimed at the other guys head) that he went flying to the floor.
want to talk about bias. they suspend Ruutuu for doing to Darcy Tucker has doent o people his whole career and been praised for. this league is a joke and i take it less and less seriously every year.

I agree that it is dirty. If Richards came at Booth from in front and Booth kept his head down, then that is one thing. Richards snuck in from behind and dropped that shoulder clear in line with his head. Mike Richards is a 12 year contracted superstar and David Booth is an up-and-coming potential star, so it makes sense that there was no suspension. You don't suspend those who give your sport a name because you're the NHL and you really aren't committed to eliminating head shots or concussions. This is a typical NHL screw up.

I disagree that Richards's hit is the same as Weight's. Weight kept in front of Sutter, he didn't sneak in on his side and Sutter his head level with Weight's shoulder. Richards clearly drops his shoulder.

Clean hit by today's rules.
Feet planted, coasted into him, shoulder and elbow down.
That's why you need to be aware of everything developing on the ice.
Booth cut from left boards towards middle before sending that pass back towards where he came from and Richards was not behind him but in sight heading towards the directions Booth was heading in. Booth looks towards pass and gets leveled.

The ref blew it by calling him for a major and misconduct.

Never was anyone to get hurt. The game is FASTER today than ever before and open ice collisions are more dangerous.

Ray Ferraro had an interesting entry on TSN website.
Something to think about whether we agree or not.

Are you kidding me???

Steve, after seeing that, it's not as bad as it first seemed.

HOWEVER,

I still don't think Richards should've hit him in that spot. It was still late, and to be honest, completely unnecessary. He's got a guy looking the other way skating right at him without the puck. Why does he need to put a shoulder on his chin?

He would've gone down if he yelled "BOO!" at him...why knock him out?

We all agree that big hits are part of the game, but by its actions, the NHL clearly isn't committed to eliminating head shots.

Steve, that's a good breakdown. Booth definitely could have seen Richards on his way. I'll renege that part of my analysis, but not the rest. I still think it was a dirty hit.

In Sweden Richards would've been suspended a couple of games for sure, especially if Weiss already had got the puck from Booth. Then it would have been a "check to the head game misconduct" or an "interference game misconduct".

Here's a similar hit by Lance Ward on Stefan Erkgärds from the 06/07 SEL season. Lance Ward recieved only a one game suspension for this. I think it would have been worth at least three.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x92mQWPO3Ws

The last part is where everyone takes sides. Should a deliberate shoulder to the head be a nono.

The rules in place today suggest not. But that is where it gets sketchy. We don't know if Richards had the intent of leveling him with a shoulder to head. Only reason i say that
is because Booth turned his head as he passed the puck and seemed to crouch in that direction.
All happened within 1.5 seconds from time he crossed the blueline till kissing the ice.

When a guy commits to a hit, he needs to keep his elbow down, Richards did that. Until the league rewrites the rules, these hits will continue and most times guys are not even injured.

:dontknow:

Great points by all...

technically - clean

morally - NOT clean

i keep reading that players have a responsibilty for one and other, yet at the same time are taught at every level to finish your checks, which is exactly what he did...

We saw a hit the other day Willie Mitchell flattened Toews completly cleanly, theres no reason why Richards couldnt have gone shoulder to shoulder here... by Steve's analysis hes close enough to be able to do that, hes not exactly flying in on Booth.

Some times guys may not be hurt, its only lucky some arn't, but Booth has a concussion... and the Flyers organisation know all about those...

I just think it was low, Richards is a great player, but there was no need here IMO.

I think that link 19trots posted is a good comparison hit. I do agree that the rules need to be re-written if hits like this will end. Yes, Richards committed to the hit, but you have the power to change your momentum, not the guy with his head as the prime target.

While it is technically a clean hit, I don't think a hit like this should go unpunished. You hit a guy in the head, and mess him up like that, there should at least be a fine of somesorts.

Even Ovechkin was fined for a slewfoot.

Dirty or not, there's no "respect" in that hit at all. Richs still had a lot of force going into the hit, that ended up going into Booth's head.


I think the tape was edited a little. Here's what was missing, "I just wanted to separate his head from the puck. His body should have follow his head and not the puck when I hit him. I just wanted to separate his head from the puck".


Tough guy this and tough guy that. Guys like Todd Bitch-tuzzzzzzzzie and jag-off hitters (hits) like this one the Richs put on Booth should be gone until the injured player can come back.

(Todd should have been out of hockey long time ago).

No Respect...... :angry: