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Tag: Player Safety

  • October 29th, 2018 — News and Notes

     

    These are your news and notes for Monday, October 29th, 2018

     

    There were six games in action last night…

     

    Tonight, there are only two games in action…

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    Image courtesy of NHL and NHL Public Relations

     

    For more news, notes, and stats…

     

    In NWHL action…

    In the lone NWHL contest yesterday, the Minnesota Whitecaps defeated the Buffalo Beauts 2-1 and moved the Whitecaps to a 6-0-0 record on the season.  Minnesota’s Amy Menke scored the game winner in the third period.

    Minnesota entered the weekend undefeated with Buffalo and the Boston Pride, but with the two wins over the Beauts and Boston’s loss to the Metropolitan Riveters on Saturday, Minnesota remains the lone undefeated team in the NWHL.

    Minnesota would score the first goal of the game just 19 seconds into the contest with Kate Schipper scoring. This was Schipper’s second goal of the weekend.

    Buffalo would be awarded a penalty shot when the puck was covered in the crease with Dani Cameranesi scoring into the top left corner to tie the game at 1.

    Minnesota Whitecaps remain undefeated with 2-1 win over Buffalo Beauts.

     

    Coming up next on the NWHL Schedule:

    The league will be taking a break for the upcoming Four Nations tournament and will return on November 17th.

    • November 17th: Buffalo Beauts at Boston Pride
      November 18th: Connecticut Whale at Metropolitan Riveters
      November 18th: Buffalo Beauts at Boston Pride

     

    The Minnesota Whitecaps return to NWHL action December 1st and 2nd when they take on the Boston Pride TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota.

     

    In NHL news…

    The NHL announced the Three Stars of the Week today.

     

    The NHL announced today that the league has entered a landmark sports betting partnership with MGM Resorts International.

     

    The Department of Player Safety announced that Ottawa Senators D Mark Borowiecki will have a hearing today for his illegal check to the head of Vegas Golden Knights Cody Eakin

     

    In NWHL News…

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Gary Bettman and Suspensions – Why you should stop blaming him for everything

    So before I go into this, because this will probably be one of the most “controversial” topics I’ll ever write about, I’d like to start with a quote that my father always says and that is “11 out of 10 people are stupid”, and right now I’m going to try to fix the stupid so please wish me luck.

     

    So in the hockey world one of the hottest topics is that of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the “controversy” surrounding him in regards to the suspensions of Auston Watson, for domestic abuse off the ice, and Tom Wilson, for an illegal check to the head during a game. Now these are two completely separate matters and I’d like to take deeper looks into both suspensions and explain why both of these cases need to be considered as such.

     

    First let’s take a look at Auston Watson of the Nashville Predators. During this past offseason Watson and his girlfriend had a domestic dispute that lead to some physicality and Watson being arrested for the incident. When all was said and done Watson pleaded no contest to the charges that were put against him. As a result of this off ice matter Commissioner Gary Bettman had a hearing with Watson, and then handed him a 27 game suspension for conduct detrimental to League. As a result of this ruling made by Bettman, per the CBA, Watson had the right to appeal this suspension, and since Bettman was the one handing out the suspension, to a neutral arbitrator. When Watson’s appeal was heard by the neutral arbitrator, the arbitrator reduced the suspension from 27 games to 18 games.

     

    Now let’s look at Tom Wilson’s suspension. During a preseason game Wilson delivered an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist which resulted in a match penalty and game misconduct. Wilson had a Player Safety hearing with George Parros, the head of the Department of Player Safety, and was given a 20 game suspension given his recent history in the previous 12 months, and several sit down conversations and warnings that was given to him during that time. Recently Wilson and the NHLPA appealed the suspension which, per the CBA, was heard by Gary Bettman. This past Thursday Bettman upheld the suspension, and Wilson is now appealing to a neutral arbitrator that will hear the case on Wednesday October 31st.

     

    So now that the back story on both cases have been established, let’s look the similarities and differences of both cases.

     

    Differences:

    • Auston Watson’s suspension was a result of an off ice matter.
    • Tom Wilson’s Suspension was a result of a play on the ice.
    • Watson’s suspension was given to him by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
    • Wilson’s suspension was was given to him by George Parros from the Department of Player Safety.
    • Watson’s suspension could only be appealed to a neutral arbitrator per the CBA.
    • Wilson’s suspension has to be appealed to the Commissioner first, then, if upheld, can then be appealed to a neutral arbitrator per the CBA.

     

    Similarities:

    • Watson’s original suspension handed to him by Bettman was 27 games.
    • Wilson’s suspension handed to him by Parros is 20 games.
    • Per the CBA, any suspension six (6) or more games can be appealed.

     

    As you can tell the only similarity that these two have is that both suspensions were 20 or more games, but it’s what the differences are that matter here because this is where everyone is getting this confused. Auston Watson was suspended for an off ice offence and Gary Bettman handed down a punishment that he deemed appropriate for Watson’s particular case, whereas Tom Wilson was suspended for an illegal check to the head and has a history, and Bettman upheld the suspension originally given by George Parros.

     

    So what is the issue here? The correct answer is there is none, but people are making an issue of it anyways.

     

    Now there is the crowd that is going after Bettman and the League because there is no Domestic Violence policy in the NHL, which yes that is an issue and needs to be addressed in the next CBA talks with the NHLPA as there should be a Domestic Violence Policy with strict guidelines and penalties for when those types of matters occur, but right now there isn’t and we need to accept that fact that as of right now, and until a new policy can be put in place, this is how it works when it comes to Domestic disputes off the ice. The Commissioner reviews the off ice matter, and then he makes a ruling on the matter. Also let’s keep in mind that Slava Voynov is still considered suspended indefinitely, and if he were able to be allowed to return to the United States, which by the way per US law he can’t, then the League has made it known that more punishment would be coming his way as his Domestic Violence case is much more gruesome than the one concerning Auston Watson (and in no way are we saying that Watson’s case is minor, we are just stating that Voynov’s is a much more serious case as his wife beaten bloody, and hospitalized).

     

    Now with the above stated let’s get right to it. Stop blaming Gary Bettman for what is going on right now, but most importantly, stop comparing off ice matters as if it were an on ice matter. They are completely different, and they can’t be compared. What was handed out by the League to Auston Watson and to Tom Wilson can’t be compared because they happened under different circumstances. Gary Bettman is handling these situations the best he can, and has done so with respect.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • October 25th, 2018: News and Notes

     

    These are your news and notes for Thursday, October 25th, 2018.

    There were four contests in the NHL last night…

    • The Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Winnipeg Jets in the first of two match-ups this season.Six different first-rounders all scored in the contest and Toronto went on to defeat the Jets 4-2. Toronto’s scores were Kasperi Kapanen (2014), Tyler Ennis (2008), Nazem Kadri (2009), and John Tavares (2009) all found the back of the net and lifted Toronto to a 5-0-0 record in road games this season and ended Winnipeg’s point streak of home games at 15, dating back to March 2 of last season.

      23 players drafted in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft have played at least in one contest thus far on the season.

    • The Florida Panthers and team captain Aleksander Barkov registered an assist on a game-tying goal and assisting on Mike Hoffman’s overtime game-winner as the Panthers would defeat the New York Islanders 3-2. Hoffman has scored a goal in each of the last three contests for the Panthers.This contest marked the third consecutive day in which a team has mounted back from a multi-goal deficit in the third period and go on to win.

      Florida has also had 17 of these occurrences happen in franchise history, including this contest.

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    • The Tampa Bay Lightning would go on to shutout the Colorado Avalanche on the lone goal from Nikita Kucherov and Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy registerd 22 saves.Vasilevskiy now sits one road shutout shy of tying Ben Bishop for the franchise record at 10.

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    • Vancouver Canucks Bo Horvat scored the two lone goals in regulation and Markus Granlund netted the only goal of the shootout to give the Canucks a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

      This would be Horvat’s first multi-goal game on the season and the fourth in his career.

    Yesterday’s results (Home team is in CAPS):

    • Florida 3, NY ISLANDERS 2 (OT)
    • Toronto 4, WINNIPEG 2
    • Tampa Bay 1, COLORADO 0
    • Vancouver 3, VEGAS 2 (SO)

    There are ten contests in the NHL tonight…

    Oct_25th_Schedy-25015901.jpg

    Image courtesy of NHL and NHL Public Relations

    For other news, stats, and notes on tonight’s contests:

    In NHL news…

    • The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced yesterday that Ottawa Senators D Mark Borowiecki has been suspended one game for elbowing Boston D Urho Vaakanainen.
    • It was also announced yesterday New Jersey Devils C Brian Boyle’s cancer has gone into remission after having a blood test taken on Monday.
    • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada released his “31 Thoughts” article today. Main piece is on goalie equipment.
    • NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman upheld the 20-game suspension of Tom Wilson earlier today.

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      TXHT will have your analysis on the ruling of the appeal tomorrow.

    In the NWHL…

     

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • News and Notes: October 24th, 2018

    These are your news and notes for Wednesday, October 24th, 2018

    There were eight games in action last night…

    • In a matchup of two of the highest-scoring player the last three seasons, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins faced off against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.Sidney Crosby netted the game winner in overtime to take down Edmonton 6-5. This contest would also feature a tie five times throughout the game.

      Crosby scored his first two goals of the season and would also net his first goals in a head-to-head matchup. Pittsburgh is 5-0-0 against Edmonton since the start of the 2016-17 season.

      In this contest, Crosby would also register the 14th career regular-season overtime goal, tying Los Angeles Kings Ilya Kovalchuk for second-most by an active player. Both trail Alex Ovechkin, who has 22.

      This contest would also make it the third time this season to feature five tying goals and the second involving the Penguins.

    • David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-1.Pastrnak would score two goals and two assists and would be only the sixth player in Bruins history to score at least 10 goals in the teams first nine games to start the season. Phil Esposito has the team record to start a season with 14 goals and did that in 10 games to start the 1973-74 season.

      Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak became the 15th and 16th different players to record at least 15 points or more in the first nine games of a season in franchise history.

    • Montreal Canadiens G Carey Price reached a tie for second place in franchise history for wins by a goaltender when the Canadiens defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2.Price is now tied with Hall of Famer Patrick Roy at 289.

      Price registered 21 saves in the contest.

      For more on this contest, TXHT and Last Word on Sports Armand Kilsvitch has your game recap here.

    • The San Jose Sharks had five different goalscorers as they took down the Nashville Predators 5-4.With the Sharks win, the Predators win streak at five has been snapped. Down by two goals with less than 10 to play, San Jose would score three times. Brent Burns would net the game winner with less than three minutes to play in regulation.

      Burns, who has points in the last six games, registered the 34th game-winner of his career.

    • Arizona Coyotes Christian Fischer achieved his first career hat trick as they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 4-1.Fischer’s hat trick is the 11th to occur thus far on the season.

    Yesterday’s results (Home team is in CAPS):

    • NY RANGERS 5, Florida 2
    • Arizona 4, COLUMBUS 1
    • MONTREAL 3, Calgary 2
    • Boston 4, OTTAWA 1
    • San Jose 5, NASHVILLE 4
    • CHICAGO 3, Anaheim 1
    • DALLAS 4, Los Angeles 2
    • Pittsburgh 6, EDMONTON 5 (OT)

    There are four games taking place tonight:

    Oct_24th_Schedy-23083115.jpg

    Image courtesy of NHL and NHL Public Relations

    For other notes on yesterday’s contests..

    In NHL news…

    • The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that Ottawa Senators Mark Borowiecki will have a hearing today for his elbowing penalty on Boston’s Urho Vaakanainen last night.
    • The New York Islanders announced today that their contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 28th, 2019 has been moved from Barclays Center to Nassau Coliseum.

     

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • News and Notes: October 15th, 2018

     

    Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, these are your news and notes for Monday, October 15th, 2018.

     

    There were three contests in the NHL yesterday.

    • Kyle Palmieri recorded two goals, his third consecutive multi-goal outing, to lift the New Jersey Devils over the San Jose Sharks with a 3-2 victory. In addition, Palmieri became the fourth player to record multi-goal games in each of his team’s first three games to kick off the regular-season campaign.

      Also in this contest, Joe Pavelski became the fifth player in NHL history to record at least 700 career points for a player drafted after the 200th overall pick.

     

    Sunday’s results

    • New Jersey 3, San Jose 2
    • Anaheim 3, St. Louis 2
    • Winnipeg 3, Carolina 1

     

    In NHL action today:

     

    In NHL news:

    The Three Stars of the Week were announced earlier today:

    • The NHL Department of Player Safety had a phone hearing with Florida Panthers D Mike Matheson for his interference/unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Vancouver Canucks F Elias Pettersson earlier today. With this hearing, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Matheson has been suspended for two games.

     

    In NWHL news:

    • The NWHL announced the Player of the Week is Lexi Bender. Bender was dominant on both sides of the ice, recording two assists in Boston’s 5-1 win over the Metropolitan Riveters. She carried plays amongst her units in almost every shift on the ice.

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    • The Metropolitan Riveters will raise their 2017-18 Isobel Cup championship banner before their contest on Saturday against the Minnesota Whitecaps at 2 p.m. ET.

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    You can watch TXHT Live tomorrow at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • NHLPA File Appeal on Behalf of Tom Wilson

    NHLPA File Appeal on Behalf of Tom Wilson

    It was just announced today that the NHL Players Association has filed an appeal to the NHL in regards to Tom Wilson’s 20 game suspension for his Illegal Check to the Head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist.

    While many still believe Wilson’s suspension is excessive, it was still given just cause by the NHL Department of Player Safety’s reasoning behind the length of the suspension. This is Wilson’s fourth suspension in less than 13 months and in 105 games. Plus this suspension is coming 16 games after being suspended for the same reason back in the second round of the postseason against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    While the appeal is a formality by the NHLPA, it will be interesting to see if Wilson’s suspension will be redudced by the League.

    *Update* The appeal will be heard by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and a date has yet to be determined. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

    You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • The Precedent of Tom Wilson’s Suspension and What it Should Do

    The Precedent of Tom Wilson’s Suspension and What it Should Do

     

     

    As was announced earlier today, NHL Department of Player Safety suspended Tom Wilson 20 games for his Illegal Check to the Head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Lundqvist. Now for many, including me, find this to be a bit excessive, but lets take a deeper look at this and get a better understanding of Wilson’s 20 game suspension.

     

     

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    Video Source : NHL Department of Player Safety

     

    As you can see in this video, DoPS demonstrates how Wilson’s hit on Sundqvist is in fact illegal even Sundqvist was elgible to be hit on this play. Now it was noted in this video about Tom Wilson’s suspension history and per the CBA is a repeat offender, as well as the fact that with preseason and postseason included from last season Wilson has been one of most suspended player in a span of 105 games, which is the most in DoPS history. Also coming off the fact that this hit happened 16 games after his suspension for his Illegal Check to the Head of Zach Aston-Reese in last season’s playoffs.

     

    So when you look at this suspension of 20 games for Tom Wilson, at first glance yes you would say it is excessive, but actually watching this video, and listening to the explanation given by DoPS, 20 games is the correct answer.

     

    However, there is one huge question that needs to be answered, and it’s not about Tom Wilson, but about DoPS.

     

    The NHL Department of Player Safety has a history of inconsistency when it comes to plays like this. Now while Wilson does have a history, this suspension also sets a precedent which should send a warning to the entire NHL that if you hit the head you get a lengthy suspension, but it won’t happen. We can have in tonight’s games a very similar play happen with the exact same hit, but will DoPS review it with the same scrutiny like they did with Wilson? Odds are probably not, but they need to be held to the same standard as they hold Wilson when gave him his hearing this morning.

     

    It will be very interesting to see how DoPS will respond if in the very near future a very similar play happens. One would hope that DoPS, maybe not with the same length as Wilson’s as his was deserved, takes the next Illegal Check to the Head just as serious as they did with Wilson.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Tom Wilson Suspended 20 Games

    Today the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Tom Wilson has been suspended 20 games for his illegal hit to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist.

    You can see the video explanation here:

    https://www.nhl.com/video/t-277350912/c-6155600

    You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • NHL and NWHL News and Notes: October 1, 2018

     

    Here are your news and notes covering the NHL for Monday, October 1, 2018.

     

    There were four preseason contests that happened yesterday.

      • The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks with a 5-3 win at T-Mobile Arena. Tomas Nosek would score two of the Golden Knights three shorthanded goals. Max Pacioretty would also score the other shorthanded goal. Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury registered 33 saves to give Golden Knights six wins out of seven on the preseason campaign. Erik Karlsson scored his first goal for the Sharks, which were 2-for-6 on the power-play. Sharks goalie Martin Jones recorded 27 saves in the contest.
      • The Nashville Predators defeated the Carolina Hurricanes with a 5-4 in overtime at PNC Arena. Nashville’s Ryan Johansen scored the GWG 21 seconds into the overtime frame, his second of the game. Hurricanes goalie Scott Darling recorded 20 saves before leaving the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Petr Mrazek came in for relief for Carolina and recorded 10 saves. Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros registered 14 and 16 shots respectively for Nashville.
      • The Washington Capitals defeated the St. Louis Blues with a 5-2 victory at Capital One Arena. Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie scored goals 49 seconds apart early in the third period. Ovechkin scored his fourth goal of the preseason 38 seconds into the third period to give Washington a 2-1 lead and then Oshie scored at 1:27. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby recorded 21 saves. Tom Wilson was given a match penalty for his hit on Blues F Oskar Sundqvist at 5:22 in the second period. There is more to come on that later.
      • The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Dallas Stars in a 6-5 victory at American Airlines Center. Colorado’s Nathan Landeskog had two goals and assist in this contest. Mikko Rantanen registered one goal and two assists, Tyson Jost and Matt Calvert each had two assists, and Colorado goalie Seymon Varlamov recorded 32 saves.

     

    There is one preseason contest today…

      • New Jersey Devils vs. Bern SC in the NHL Global Series Challenge in Switzerland

     

    Here are your news and notes covering the NHL…

    • As discussed yesterday, Washington Capitals F Tom Wilson will have an in-person hearing for his hit on Oskar Sundqvist yesterday. For our coverage, please go here and here.
    • NHL rosters for opening night on Wednesday must be submitted by 5 p.m. ET tomorrow (October 2nd).
    • The Edmonton Oilers traded Jakub Jerabek to the St. Louis Blues for a sixth-round draft pick in 2020

     

     

    • Scott Hartnell announced his retirement today from the NHL. Hartnell played 17 seasons and registered 707 points in 1,249 games with three teams.

     

     

    • Shea Weber was announced as the 30th captain in Montreal Canadiens team history today. Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher were also announced as the alternate captains.

     

     

    • The Toronto Maple Leafs finalized their 23-man roster (13 forwards, eight defenceman and two goalies) today.

     

     

    • 19 years ago today, the Edmonton Oilers officially retired Wayne Gretzky’s number.

     

     

    • The New York Islanders unveiled their new third jerseys today. These thirds are identical to the last few third jerseys they have had over the past few seasons.

     

    Additional looks at the Islanders third jersey

     

    • The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Connor Carrick to the Dallas Stars for a conditional seventh-round draft pick which will turn into sixth rounder if Carrick plays at least 50 games.

     

     

    • Radim Vrbata announced his retirement today from the NHL.

     

     

    • The Montreal Canadiens acquired Brett Kulak from the Calgary Flames, who will report to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. In return, the Calgary Flames, will get Matt Taormina and Rinat Valiev.

     

     

    In the NWHL, the Connecticut Whale announced that they have signed Meeri Räisänen. Räisänen, a Finnish goalie, joins Russian national team goalie Maria Sorokina to give the Whale a strong and talented goaltending tandem.

     

     

    You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Tom Wilson Hearing scheduled for Wednesday Morning

    NHL’s Department of Player Safety has announced that Tom Wilson’s in person hearing will take place Wednesday October 3rd.

     

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    Because Wilson has agreed to an in person hearing means that this hit could garner him a minimum of 5 games.

    We will have more as this story continues to develop.

    Watch TXHT live tomorrow at 8p EST for our Capitals Home Opener and NWHL Preview. You can watch live on Twitch and Facebook Live.