NHL gets it right with no hearing for Seidenberg on Jonathan Toews hit
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety decided on Friday that Dennis Seidenberg’s hit that injured Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks isn’t worthy of supplemental discipline, as there won’t be a hearing for the Boston Bruins defenseman.
As much as Blackhawks fans don’t want to hear it, this was the right call.
Ultimately, the League decided the call on the ice was the right one: a boarding minor. Just because a penalized player injured an opponent – and Toews’ status is still being determined, as the Blackhawks aren’t skating on Friday – doesn’t automatically mean the player deserves a suspension.
In Seidenberg’s case … well, look at the play. It’s a loose puck. Both players have a right to engage physically in chasing it. Seidenberg is clearly attempting to deliver a check to Toews’ shoulder. It ends up being from behind, hence the penalty.
But the League isn’t suspending for textbook boarding. Its mandate is punishing irresponsibility. Its eradicating malice. Look again:
Do you see any malice? Do you just see a hockey hit gone bad?
We’ve seen dozens of suspensions for boarding. Many involve an element of charging – this doesn’t. Nearly all involve the “he should have never delivered the hit if he saw his numbers” mantra that players are taught from the time they’re first able to grip a stick. The first time Seidenberg sees Toews’ numbers is when the Blackhawks captain is rolling on the ground.
Again: It’s a battle for a loose puck. Claude Julien came off as unfeeling in his postgame comments, but he’s sorta correct:
“I certainly don’t like seeing those kinds of things, but this is where it’s important to take care of ourselves. So, I view that five-on-three we’re going to close a gap quickly, and Dennis [Seidenberg] is a strong individual,” said Julien. “Is he supposed to get weak because of that situation?
“Or he just plays to his strength. I wasn’t happy. I looked at it, and it could be arguable, but from my end of it I think it’s what it is. Our guys need to finish their checks and sure, you’ve got to be careful, but I’m sure he knew that [Seidenberg] was coming.”
That’s code for “Toews turned his back to the play,” which is a bit much. But his body positioning to play the puck helped turn a shoulder hit into one from behind. This isn’t to blame Toews, but rather it’s to explain how things went badly.
Look, the easy thing to do here for the League would be to suspend Dennis Seidenberg. Toews is a star player. He’s currently filming a multi-week cable series to promote the NHL’s signature regular-season game on Jan. 1. Seidenberg could have just ripped up a meal ticket for the team.
But the Department of Player Safety knows it’s a physical game. It’s an injurious game. It justifiably targets irresponsible plays and reprehensible players. The NHL was right to not apply either label to this incident.
