NHL explains not suspending Knights’ Zach Whitecloud for hit

Greg Wyshynski, ESPNNov 21, 2024, 09:17 PM ET

CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

The NHL Department of Player Safety has clarified why it decided not to suspend Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud for a hit that injured Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies on Wednesday night.

The department released a video Thursday that covered three recent hits that involved contact with an opponent’s head, the one by Whitecloud and two that resulted in suspensions.

Player Safety rarely addresses hits that don’t result in supplemental discipline — its last “explainer” video is believed to have been released in 2018. But Whitecloud’s hit on Knies was a point of controversy in Toronto, in the media and among Leafs players.

In the second period of Toronto’s 3-0 win at home Wednesday night, Whitecloud stepped up and checked Knies as Knies carried the puck over the red line. Whitecloud’s skates left the ice on contact. The hit was reviewed by the on-ice officials who determined it didn’t warrant a major penalty. Whitecloud was given a minor penalty for roughing. Toronto’s Simon Benoit was given a double minor for roughing after going after Whitecloud. The referee’s announcement infuriated the Toronto crowd, as Vegas earned a power play after Knies’ injury.

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Benoit said after the game that “I don’t think it’s a good call” and that “his feet were off the ice when he hit [Knies] right to the head.”

The Player Safety video reiterated the two standards that need to be met for a violation of Rule 48, which covers illegal checks to the head: that the head was the main point of contact, and that head contact was avoidable.

The video contrasted the Whitecloud hit with checks that earned Toronto forward Ryan Reaves a five-game suspension and Los Angeles forward Tanner Jeannot a three-game ban for making contact with the head. Player Safety said there was “inarguably head contact” by Whitecloud, but that his hit went through the body of Knies…

Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/42533719/nhl-explains-not-suspending-knights-zach-whitecloud-hit

Author : Greg Wyshynski

Publish date : 2024-11-22 02:46:00

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