OT: NHL defenseman crosschecks ref in the back

Submitted by MikeCohodes on

In case you haven't seen it yet, last night in the Calgary vs Nashville game, Calgary defenseman Dennis Wideman gets up woozy from a crushing hit into the boards and starts making his way towards the bench. Along the way he runs into a linesman skating backwards, and proceeds to drill him right in the back of the head and shoulders. 

Wideman claims it was unintentional and states he has apologized to the linesman in question, no word yet on possible suspension by the NHL. It did not draw a penalty in the game.

Video can be found at the following LINK but I'm having trouble embedding for the board, sorry.

FauxMo

January 28th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^

It looks that way. However, there is a theory that zebras developed their stripes because the black and white alternating pattern confused predators (lions) who were unable to focus on the zebra as well. Maybe something similar happened here???

BlowGoo

January 28th, 2016 at 10:51 AM ^

Wideman should have been taken out of the game.

Not because he hit a ref, but because he was so disoriented that he couldn't tell the difference between the linesman and another player. Clearly concussed.

N. Campus Tech

January 28th, 2016 at 1:57 PM ^

that was my impression.

he's skating back to the bench looking down and not paying attention to his surroundings.

suddenly, he sees someone skating at him and assumes its an opponent and instinctively lays some lumber.

worthy of a 1 or 2 game suspension. he didn't go out of his way to intentionally injure the ref, and I'm assuming the ref finished the game, so he wasn't too badly hurt.

also, the guy might want to see a Dr. to check out that concussion.

goblue12820

January 28th, 2016 at 10:52 AM ^

"Crosscheck" is a pretty strong word for that. It looked like he was pretty out of it and didnt see him until the last second and just put his arms up to protect himself. I doubt he is suspended. Not to mention there was no motive to do that.

Blue since day 1

January 28th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^

the player wasnt a chicken like notre dame is according to Hoke... just kidding he should be suspended for the rest of the season.

gremlin3

January 28th, 2016 at 10:55 AM ^

1. Click on YouTube icon; opens new tab at YT site.

2. Click on "Share"

3. Click on "embed"

4. Copy: Ctrl+c (or "apple + c")

5. Return to mgoblog.

6. In post window click "Switch to plain text editor"

7. Paste: Ctrl (or "apple") + v

8. Profit.

 

caup

January 28th, 2016 at 10:59 AM ^

He had absolutely regained his bearings and was pissed about the no-call. Blatant dirty hit on the ref! Kick him out for the rest of the year. Disgusting.

Charlestown Chiefs

January 28th, 2016 at 11:15 AM ^

They don't call minors but they can call major penalties.  This is likely what Wideman was pissed about.  Then again, anyone who is willing to do that to an official in general probably didn't think it through. 

Anyone who has played competitive hockey in their lives can tell you that if he was really caught off guard as he claims, he wouldn't have put both hands on his stick.  You do that to protect yourself from someone trying to hit you.  The linesman clearly wasn't trying to do that.  If Wideman was really caught off guard, he would have simply grabbed a hold of the official instead of putting a second hand on his stick and delivering the blow.

kdhoffma

January 28th, 2016 at 1:10 PM ^

It's a lot more gray than that.  I know the way the USAH hockey rulebook (and I believe NHL is the same) is written, linesman give their interpretation of a penalty to the ref at stoppage of play, even in situations when nothing was called by the ref... and certainly that can lead to a penalty.  They also help to determine the level of penalty called (minor, souble minor, major, misconduct etc.)  However, you never see linesman raising their arm and intiating a stoppage in play for a penalty.

On this particular play, I seriously doubt Wideman was going after this particular linesman.  Anyone that has played/watched a lot of hockey knows these shoves near the benches during changes happen double digit times per game.  Wideman is not a notrious dirty player... the most logical explanation to me is his bell was rung, he was disoriented when he got near the bench and mistook the ref for a predators player.  The league is in an odd place here, because if they don't suspend Wideman, than they obviously believe he was disoriented... at which point they need to explain why he was allowed to stay in the game.

RowoneEndzone

January 28th, 2016 at 11:44 AM ^

If he in fact did have a concussion he may have not consciously done it on purpose. My dad coached my hockey team and I got laid out once by a much bigger kid. I suffered a concussion and when my dad and other coaches were looking down at me on the ice I swatted at their faces. Head trauma victims are also known to become violent in ambulances. They are not consciously trying to hurt the paramedic intentionally.

Jalm

January 28th, 2016 at 12:28 PM ^

Yeah lets compare Hitler, the man who commited genocide, to an NHL player who may have been concussed prior to having a questionable hit on an official. Or are you saying Hitler may have been concussed before becoming the German leader?

Lou MacAdoo

January 28th, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^

Come on guys you can't assume he had ill intentions here. You could easily assume he's concussed and seeing stars. He's so focused on getting to the bench that he doesn't see the ref backing right into his path until he's right in front of him. His reaction, just like yours would be, is to put up his hands, which happen to be holding his stick, to protect himself. This isn't a player that has a history of discipline issues in the league like a Raffi Torres. I think he gets the benefit of the doubt here.