Should the NHL be doing more to prevent hits to the head?
10/27/2008 at 9:18 AM
Anyone following the NHL over the weekend will have probably heard about the hit by Doug Weight on 19 year old Carolina Hurricane (and almost Brandon Wheat King) Brandon Sutter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGCqaV04-ss
By the NHL's definition of hitting, it was legal. It was Weight's shoulder that made contact with Sutter's head. Over the year's we've seen on a number of occasions similar hits that can seriously effect a player's career.
The Carolina Hurricanes in particular have been on the receiving end of four such hits and their GM Jim Rutherford is now publicly calling the NHL out for not being serious enough about this kind of hit.
On one side of the debate, some will say that if you're skating with your head down you should be prepared for the consequences. On the other, some are calling for a ban on any kind of contact with the head.
Here's a full story from TSN:
http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=253894&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_main
What do eBrandonners think?