05-05-2021, 11:46 AMSimply Incorrect Wrote:

05-05-2021, 11:42 AMleviadan Wrote: The one thing I noticed, and this takes a deeply trained hockey eye-- I should note here than I did try out for a AAA team once so I can pick up on tiny details like this-- is that the guy Sidney is wrestling with is still wearing a helmet. The presence of a helmet in hockey is actually pretty major safety feature, and while this play is still inarguably violent, there was a protective layer between the victim's head and the ice. Hope this helps.

And I see that point, I’ll only add that I think intent is also relevant. Wilson had intent to throw Panarin head first into the ice, but did not actually accomplish it, but nonetheless the response to it is as if he did.

And for the record I think what Wilson did was wrong.

Intent is borderline irrelevant here because we can't know what people are thinking, only what they're doing. Wilson attempted to end somebodies career. That has to be pretty close to as punishable as actually doing it. Would Crosby have done the same thing in that clip if he grabbed the guy and realized he didn't have a helmet? Who knows? Maybe! But we don't know because he had a helmet, so the outcome was significantly less risky and significantly less violent. They were also already on the ice, so nobody could gain a lot of momentum from falling. Wilson took a guy from full standing height that he knew didn't have a helmet and tried to crack his head open. It didn't work, but you absolutely cannot have people that are willing to do that in the league. Full stop. He failed this time, but he might not next time.