Weight hit on Sutter

[Chadd 916]

I know we were talking about it the other day but I couldn't find the topic, maybe it was in chat.

It's hard to feel bad for a guy who gets hit like this:

When he is the kind of guy who has thrown hits like this:

Reading the Andy Strickland column jogged my memory on this one, too bad he didn't embed the clips.

[jbyun04 7]

reminds me a lot of moore's hit on naslund

[Chadd 916]

reminds me a lot of moore's hit on naslund

That was also in his column

[LkptTiger 1]

At least Sutter (on Cherepanov) took the body. Weight didn't look like he had any interest in Sutter's chest or shoulders...he took aim at the guy's head.

[Chadd 916]

At least Sutter (on Cherepanov) took the body. Weight didn't look like he had any interest in Sutter's chest or shoulders...he took aim at the guy's head.

If Sutter wasn't going for Cherepanov's head why were his feet at shoulder level after he threw the hit?

[LkptTiger 1]

The vast majority of the contact was made at or below shoulder level. Listen to the "thud" - that's torso-on-torso. On the other hand, I'm not sure if ANY contact was made below Sutter's neck on Weight's hit.

I'm not saying Sutter didn't leave his feet or didn't get his arm up a bit too high - that's pretty much undeniable. Weight's his was much worse in comparison; much more dangerous, careless and extremely gutless. When you put the two side-by-side and took a vote, I think the results would be near unanimous that Sutter's hit was far and away the lesser of two evils.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

I'm not sure that Weight meant to try and take Sutter's head off. Sutter puts himself in a pretty bad position when he lunges forward for the puck. Weight might've been able to pull up a bit, but hockey's a fast game. In the video it looks like he was committed to taking the body instead of the puck, and he probably didn't expect Sutter to lean forward like that. It happened pretty quick. Sutter went from being a good target to having his head at shoulder level in just a split second. I think the only way he avoids hitting Sutter in the head is to try and avoid him completely.

[The Stranger 0]

The vast majority of the contact was made at or below shoulder level. Listen to the "thud" - that's torso-on-torso. On the other hand, I'm not sure if ANY contact was made below Sutter's neck on Weight's hit.

I'm not saying Sutter didn't leave his feet or didn't get his arm up a bit too high - that's pretty much undeniable. Weight's his was much worse in comparison; much more dangerous, careless and extremely gutless. When you put the two side-by-side and took a vote, I think the results would be near unanimous that Sutter's hit was far and away the lesser of two evils.

I don't know, I don't like either of them, but if we are taking a vote, I think I am breaking that shutout. After getting slew-footed Sutter was out for blood. Was that Weights intention? Maybe, maybe not, but I would tend to think it was more awkwardly dangerous than intentionally so.

[JGraz15 53]

That was my first thought when I heard about Sutter...you play a certain way and it always comes back to you

[althoma1 574]

When Sutter hit Chereponov it looked like he chased him down to make the hit and then hit high. When Weight hit Sutter, Sutter was skating along the boards with his head down - Weight simply glided into his way and then lined up the hit. Just before the hit it looked like Sutter either let the puck slip too far ahead of him and lunged or saw Weight and tried to duck the hit...if he stayed upright he still would've been hit hard, but I don't think it would've been a head shot. Weight was going for the hit, but it definitely doesn't look like he was intentionally running around head hunting to me.

[thejackal 46]

i dont blame weight on that one. reaching for the puck like that at center ice is a recipe for disaster

[Law Goalie 147]

Just a flat-out stupid move by Sutter. He had all kinds of options - even at that speed - and chose one of two that created a serious risk of injury (throwing his upper body out of the way and dragging a knee would be the other). He dropped his head right down into Weight's shoulder, which Weight had *already* lowered to hit Sutter in the chest - turning a hard hit into an injury.

In the immortal words of Zdeno Chara, after taking a roughing penalty on Marty St. Louis, "His head is at my waist!"

[eric42434224 1]

Absolutely. If you watch the video, it shows an angle from behind Weight (at approx 2:25) and it clearly shows Weight going LOW with the shoulder. His shoulder is about as low as the top of the boards. I dont see how he could have gone any lower. Sutter made a really bad move lunging forward and down. CLEAN hit.

[-venom- 0]

I've got to agree with most of the previous posters about the Weight hit.... I mean, he was making a good hockey play and Sutter reached for the puck. Kind of hard to change your position last second like that, when you've already committed yourself to a hit, both physically and mentally.

That said, you can't blame Sutter for it, as he was trying to make a good hustle play, just got caught.

Clean hit, just a shame he got his bell rung....

[mrusse01 0]

Absolutely. If you watch the video, it shows an angle from behind Weight (at approx 2:25) and it clearly shows Weight going LOW with the shoulder. His shoulder is about as low as the top of the boards. I dont see how he could have gone any lower. Sutter made a really bad move lunging forward and down. CLEAN hit.

Agree 100%.

When you see that from behind angle, it would have been nearly impossible for Weight to have hit in anywhere other than right in the head.

Clean hit.

[LkptTiger 1]

Wow - after watching the hit at full speed several-dozen times, I just now sat down and watched the whole clip - along with the the slow-mo replay at 2:25 Eric had referenced earlier.

Full speed, it kinda looks like Weight comes across Sutter and goes after his head - maybe trying to avoid taking a shot to his own body while still putting a wallop on him (my initial reaction to it). After watching it in slow-mo, I'm now kinda convinced that Doug might have let-up on Brandon a little bit when he recognized that his head was out in front and down around elbow-level. Watch his feet - he starts to set himself for the big thump, then at the last second he kinda comes off it and goes a bit soft; maybe bouncing off Sutter and trying to continue in a "less destructive" path as opposed to burying the poor guy.

I guess I had never focused on Weight's feet before watching that shot - I should have known better; in fact, they should have been the first things I keyed-in on. Unbelievably impulsive of me...but I'm a hockey player and hockey is an impulsive game (especially at the Junior level...so I have an excuse, right?).

I think I'm going to go ahead and take that "dangerous, careless and extremely gutless" stuff back, with my apologies to Mr. Weight.

[Law Goalie 147]

^^ Fair play.

To be honest, I hadn't noticed Weight's feet shifting either, only on the relative level of his shoulders, but that's definitely a sign of him letting up on Sutter. There was a way to throw that hit so that Sutter would end up in a coma - just brace up hard and throw yourself through his head as it drops. Weight, to his credit, did not do that.

[camhockey16 5]

obviously i don't what weights real intentions were - but i dont think he meant for that to happen.

i think weight had him lined up for a clean hit and was bracing himself for it - and then at the last second sutter bent farther over. i think its kind of similar to in the corners where the defensive player goes to make a hit and at the last second the other player turns and faces the boards. the player gets a boarding penalty regardless - even though he didnt intend to hit the player face first into the boards.

[-venom- 0]

obviously i don't what weights real intentions were - but i dont think he meant for that to happen.

i think weight had him lined up for a clean hit and was bracing himself for it - and then at the last second sutter bent farther over. i think its kind of similar to in the corners where the defensive player goes to make a hit and at the last second the other player turns and faces the boards. the player gets a boarding penalty regardless - even though he didnt intend to hit the player face first into the boards.

Yeah, that one always sucks...

boarding can be so borderline sometimes, and much of the time it looks intentional, which is unfortunate. But hey, every time we all step out there on the ice, we know there's a chance it could happen...

[Chadd 916]

obviously i don't what weights real intentions were - but i dont think he meant for that to happen.

i think weight had him lined up for a clean hit and was bracing himself for it - and then at the last second sutter bent farther over. i think its kind of similar to in the corners where the defensive player goes to make a hit and at the last second the other player turns and faces the boards. the player gets a boarding penalty regardless - even though he didnt intend to hit the player face first into the boards.

Yeah, that one always sucks...

boarding can be so borderline sometimes, and much of the time it looks intentional, which is unfortunate. But hey, every time we all step out there on the ice, we know there's a chance it could happen...

When you have guys that are going to throw the hit no matter what position the other guy is in, you are going to have injuries.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Here's a quote from Weight about the hit.

“I admire [Hurricanes GM] Jim Rutherford’s loyalty [to his player]. But [sutter] wasn’t vulnerable. He made himself vulnerable after I committed to the hit. I don’t know what he was thinking, but I couldn’t change directions and go with him without blowing my knee out. He reached for the puck and his head dropped eight inches. Look at the video. I didn’t come up with my elbow. I wasn’t licking my chops. I was trying to stop him from going around me.”

[phunky_monkey 6]

I've got to agree with most of the previous posters about the Weight hit.... I mean, he was making a good hockey play and Sutter reached for the puck. Kind of hard to change your position last second like that, when you've already committed yourself to a hit, both physically and mentally.

That said, you can't blame Sutter for it, as he was trying to make a good hustle play, just got caught.

Clean hit, just a shame he got his bell rung....

I agree completely.

Clean hit, shame he got hurt.

I also relate completely with camhockey in regards to it being similar to when a forward turns and faces the boards when a defenseman is already committed to a hit. It's up to both parties to avoid injury in these situations. You can't be so quick to blame the one placing the hit all the time.

[Chadd 916]

I've got to agree with most of the previous posters about the Weight hit.... I mean, he was making a good hockey play and Sutter reached for the puck. Kind of hard to change your position last second like that, when you've already committed yourself to a hit, both physically and mentally.

That said, you can't blame Sutter for it, as he was trying to make a good hustle play, just got caught.

Clean hit, just a shame he got his bell rung....

I agree completely.

Clean hit, shame he got hurt.

I also relate completely with camhockey in regards to it being similar to when a forward turns and faces the boards when a defenseman is already committed to a hit. It's up to both parties to avoid injury in these situations. You can't be so quick to blame the one placing the hit all the time.

The issue there is that some guys commit to the hit along the boards from 25 feet away.

[phunky_monkey 6]

In that instance there is no excuse, I agree.