On the Forecheck
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Burrows gets away with one
by Forechecker on 12/10/08 at 05:23 PM ET
Comments (10)
As a followup to the Alexander Burrows hit on J.P. Dumont in last night’s 3-1 Vancouver win in Nashville, the NHL has declined to suspend the Canucks forward for his head shot. Quoth Barry Trotz in a piece at the Tennessean this afternoon:
“I trust that the league deals with these hits on a daily basis. I might not agree with their judgment all the time, but I have to trust that the league is there and being neutral. When things are close to the line, we want them dealt with and we felt they were very close to the line on a few.’’
I’m guessing those words were written on a scrap of paper, and upon being uttered, were wadded up and thrown against the nearest wall. And remember, the Canucks visit Nashville again on New Year’s Day. Get your tickets* for this one! Not that any sort of payback would occur… no… not at all…
*use code word ”predators” for a discount
Filed in: Nashville Predators | On the Forecheck | Permalink
Comments
How can you guys say anything when you employ Tootoo. This was just payback from the hit on Miller.
Posted by Pfeifer on 12/10/08 at 05:40 PM ET
Gotta agree with Pfeifer. Tootoo is arguably the worst headhunter in the league. No respect for other players or their longterm health.
Posted by Hockey Hermit on 12/10/08 at 05:43 PM ET
Please find me one clip of Tootoo with a hit to the head anywhere close to as elbow driven or feet-leaving as Burrow hit that didn’t get a suspension. Please.
Posted by pwnicholson from Nashville, TN on 12/10/08 at 06:01 PM ET
the only way that Burrows was going to get suspended was if he mentioned something about second helping of sloppy joes or something of that nature. LOL
Posted by JR from Mich on 12/10/08 at 06:05 PM ET
As a fan of neither team, I have to say I don’t see what the fuss is about. The play looked questionable because of the hop that Burrows did *after* initial contact. If you look at the replay from the camera in the corner, the two players are almost exactly eye-to-eye when the hit happens--which makes sense, as they’re both listed at 6’1”.
Burrows may be a punk, but his hit was clean, and certainly no more actionable than Arnott’s reaction to it.
Posted by shep on 12/10/08 at 06:13 PM ET
Burrows deserved a penalty. Although someone teeny little burrows doesn’t seem that threatening.
I’d agree with Shep, it was more like a hop though. In fact watch it in real time and burrows almost seems to have a brain fart like he was about to get leveled but then decided not to bail out at the last second. He *hardly* touched him yet the guy goes down like a sack of potatoes. Lame.
As for the Kesler hit. The guy looked back, saw him coming then turned. Messier put it best when he said a guy like that deserves to be smeared.
Nashville should adopt that style of play for every game. Then maybe they could drawm more than 13,000 fans.
Posted by Laker from ROCKSTAR on 12/10/08 at 06:32 PM ET
Please find me one clip of Tootoo with a hit to the head anywhere close to as elbow driven or feet-leaving as Burrow hit that didn’t get a suspension. Please.
Search for ‘tootoo hits’ on youtube, click the one titled “Tootoo Is Sparta!”. That took five whole seconds…
Posted by shep on 12/10/08 at 06:36 PM ET
He *hardly* touched him yet the guy goes down like a sack of potatoes. Lame.
Seriously? I hope you’re kidding and i’m missing the irony. Take an elbow to the face from someone skating right at you and see if you stay on your feet.
Search for ‘tootoo hits’ on youtube, click the one titled “Tootoo Is Sparta!”. That took five whole seconds…
Ok, ok. Good find. Tootoo from about 6 years ago, but yeah, that was a dirty hit, no doubt. BTW, this is how you link to a video. Pretty tricky. Tootoo Is Sparta
Burrows may be a punk, but his hit was clean, and certainly no more actionable than Arnott’s reaction to it.
I think Burrows hit should have been fined at least if not suspended for a game, but i agree that Arnott’s reaction should have as well. I really wonder if that is one of the reasons no action was taken. Arnott waited for the refs to call something, when they didn’t he skated all the way across the ice and cold jumped Burrows. I think he had it coming, and i’m ashamed that Erat practically tripped over Dumont’s body and didn’t respond to Burrows - but Arnott should have just made him take his beating like a man, not jump him against the boards.
If it was me, i would have probably issued a 1 game suspension each to Burrows, Arnott, and to Kesler for the vicious boarding of Shea Weber (he is a star after all, which the NHL usually over reacts to protect).
Posted by pwnicholson from Nashville, TN on 12/10/08 at 07:04 PM ET
Nashville fans tend to think that if someone touches one of their players its dirty, but Tootoo can leave his feet on checks, and all the other stuff he pulls and its ok. I live in the Metro Nashville area, so I see this stuff in person.. The best one is “TOOTOO PICKS THE BIGGEST GUY ON THE ICE TO FIGHT WITH” um hmmm......
But im surprised that the league chose not to do anything, Burrows has a rep himself of being on the edge....
Posted by Yzerman19 from Nashville on 12/10/08 at 07:43 PM ET
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About On the Forecheck
Dirk Hoag is the Forechecker, churner of NHL stats and analysis. Having started over 10 years ago writing for websites like In the Crease and e-Sports, Dirk launched On The Forecheck in 2005 to cover the Nashville Predators as well as apply statistical analysis to NHL hockey.
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Absolutely freaking ridiculous. The wheel of justice prevails.
JP shoulda cussed the guy’s mom post-game just to make a point.
Posted by pwnicholson from Nashville, TN on 12/10/08 at 05:30 PM ET