IT'S TIME FOR HOCKEY, JUNIOR ESPECIALLY, TO HAND DOWN STIFFER PENALTIES.
CORMIER SHOULD NEVER BE PERMITTED TO LACE UP A PAIR OF SKATES AGAIN IN ANY ORGANIZED/PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE AND THE SAME SHOULD GO FOR THIS KNUCKLEHEAD SCANDELLA. BOTH FRESH FROM REPING CANADA AND THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT TO SHOW THE KIDS THAT ARE COMING UP AND IDOLIZING THEM.
LET'S CRACK DOWN ONCE AND FOR ALL ON THIS TYPE OF ACTION.

Disgusting editing...first the spelling...Kharlamov not Kharmalov and how do you ask a dead man about dirty hockey players...? Please try harder next time.

Dear Peter,
I apologize my typo -- in a BLOG -- has upset you. Thanks for pointing it out, as its now been adjusted to reflect reality.

As for asking dead men questions, clearly you're a believer in neither the psychic arts nor rhetorical questions used as a device to make a gentle point...

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to playing with my O-Pee-Chee tarot cards...

huzzah,
beer

This check and the Cormier check looked to me that the checkers were just gutless and afraid to hit their target head-on: Better to give a glancing blow and not get hurt yourself. If players are going play like that it's best they don't hit at all!

Here we go again, another cheap shot. What can you say that already hasn't been said. It's obvious that none of this is being taken seriously nor is anything being done about it. I wonder what this guy will get, 1 game perhaps 3, or if they really want to send a message 4. What a joke, I guess the punishment handed out to Cormier really sent a message that they were going to crack down on head shots. As we can see that really worked. Cheap, dirty and cowardly.

Ouch! That hit was brutal!

He shattered the visor on Durette? Must have been a pretty hard impact with the elbow.

@Peter: Grow up please.

I played old timers hockey - 35 and up and it was suppose to be no contact hockey. I also got a vicious elbow to the head, I was lucky in that I wasn't seriously hurt. My nose is not the same and I have pins in my front teeth to hold them together to this day. I'm 58 now and I still love the game. The same guy who hit me with the head shot also dislocated my left shoulder a couple years earlier also by using his elbow by slaming it into by shoulder. i was 6 weeks in a sling. You may be asking by now , whats your point? My point is hockey is hockey. If you played the game at all you would know that emotion sometimes gets the better of you and dumb acts are the result. I thought I was a clean player but I was told many times I was a dirty player, a lot of times you are doing things that you are not aware of while playing the game because of the fast pace and the emotion. I also refed hockey and I was amaized at the number of times I would call a pentalie for an elbow or a high stick and the guys would argue it didn;t happen. Calls that were pretty obivious to me wasn't to them. I , while playing was called for the same things and would react to the call the same way. I don't agree with the visious hits that we see on air and with the juniors but to kick a guy out of the game for life , give me a break, nobody deserves that . You play you take your licks . its give and take. Life is for serious crime not for playing a game

Guess we have to acknowledge that hockey is still viewed and governed as a 'gladiator sport' in some people's minds. Might as well send in the lions. After all that was acceptable in sports a few centuries back...

Those of us who have played the game all realize that hockey is a full contact sport. There are great hits, and there are cheap shots. Players can get hurt from good hits as well. No, I'm not making an excuse for the cheap shots. They should be dealt with severely at any and all levels of the game.
The biggest problem I have is with the equipment. My old elbow pads from 35 years ago are like a balls of cloth with some leather wrapped around it and elastic to hold them up. The pads today are like armour! You might as well clunk a guy with your stick. Shoulder pads are the same. Virtually becoming weapons now instead of personal protection. A lot of the young players have no fear running another player because they know they won't get hurt themselves.

I thought this article was about the ' all of a sudden' Dion Phanoef Trade to Toronto ?... Which was truthfully caused by getting caught screwing Jerome Iginla's wife.
True that !, elbow to the head.

Give me a break, these guys throwing elbows think their tough.... perhaps they should join the UFC and leave hockey to the real talented players.

I agree completely with Big G, the equipment is almost rock hard, you may as well just wrap them in steel amour and let them go at it. Most hits like this are unintenional, I highly doubt Scandella or Cormier intended to hit their opponents the way they did. All it takes is a slight change in body angle or attitude and the outcome of a check changes, if Scandella had hit him with the front of his body he would have sent him head first into the boards, look at the video again if you need to. Players are mucking along the boards for a puck, just as one player lines up to hit his opponent from the side, the opponent turns away from him, now it's a hit from behind, many time these hits unfortunate as they are can not be avoided because it is to late for the player to stop or change his attack angle.
I'm not justifying either hit just pointing out how difficult it is to stop a hit in progress, for those of you who are screaming for these players heads and have never played organized hockey, stop, you don't know what you are talking about so your mamby-pamby opinion is worthless, if you don't want your kids getting hurt sign them up for volleyball or tennis instead, no contact sports because they will get hurt regardless of any rules in effect, s**t happen in the blink of an eye on the ice and that just the way it is, if you or your kids aren't tough enough to handle it forget about hockey, it has always been a tough sport and that's how it was always intended to be not watered down like International hockey.
Hockey is supposed to be a game of skill, grit, aggression and power, not skill only, if that were the case 99.999% of your kids would never play the game because they aren't good enough!

This is an obvious hit with intent to injure another player. The wound may disfigure this young man as well as end his hockey career. There is no respect in the game and minor hockey coaches should teach respect as part of the players development. As for the vicious hit, a suspension is meaningless. Send the coward home with a one-way ticket.

Not saying it wasn't a cheap shot, but what was Durette doing leaning so far forward and putting himself in such a vulnerable position. I'm afraid that if Scandella hit him with a shoulder the damage could even have been worst. Learning how to take a check and avoid putting yourself in danger was more important than learning how to throw a check.
I agree with the comments about the equipment.

O.K. I've played junior from 6 years old through my teens, then got back out there as a no-contact adult house league player (though yes, received a kick to my face-cage dislocating my jaw by some twit), continued on as both house league and select (competative) coach for many, many years, also became trainer for my teams when 'CONTACT' was recently re-introduced to junior hockey a few years ago.

I absolutely love the game; agree that emotions and perceptions get skewed whilst playing (vs being coach or official); agree that contact is a requisite for this, the fastest non-power assisted sport, BUT... in NO WAY agree with allowing ANY jackass maverick to take a moment in there own little world to raise an elbow anywhere above anyone else's navel. Furthermore, there is a website (darwin awards) dedicated to cave-dweller thugs like this moron and those who preceeded him. There is also NO excuse or subtefuge that will draw from the INTENT of this (and all other morons) elbow finding it's way where it landed - NONE - specially carrying on about "that's hockey - get over it".
If a fight breaks out on the ice in an NHL game, I TURN THE CHANNEL and read the score if I'm still interested the next day. Case closed. The only way to put the sense of reality in these twits is to make an example of them by banning them from the game TOTALLY. That way, there is no 'if's, 'ands' or 'buts' about it. Do it and lose it... "Oops.. should have taken a moment to stop myself before I blew my career out the window".. Better the moron than the victim loosing a career.

Just like drinking and driving, really.. a little forethought and a little respect for anyone other than one's self can go a LONG WAY. BTW, anyone remember how amazing it was to watch Olympic Hockey a few years ago (where SKILL is top pre-requisite, not dumb-as-a-stump thuggery) and when the NHL resumed, it was almost embarrassing to watch the almost hillbilly antics we became watered down and compliant watching over the years? Furthermore, I really have to give it to WOMEN'S HOCKEY, as they seem to have a much better sense of focusing on skill than some of these hormone-packed pricks (there are most certainly Darwin candidates of the female variety in the game as well, don't be mistaken).
Oh, last but not least, HAVE A GREAT LOOK AT SOME OF THE COACHES - you'll find the source to some severe idiocy right there. You either get it or you don't.

CLEAN THE GAME UP, FOLKS - NOW! ps.. yes, the elbow pads are now designed like an offensive Gladiator weapon - hello!!!

some say this some say that and some say it's only hockey
, but if you ever got hit like that, even if you totally desrve it wouldn't you wish it never happened the worse thing in life is to see your child taken off the ice in a strecher unable to move because they are paralyzed and the idiot father of the idiot child is saying it's part of the game. yeah right maybe it all those idiot fathers who couldn't play in the NHL think that there kids could, if you have to leave a mark by cheap shots than chances are you don't have what it takes.

wade and leo shade learn something about the game of hockey, of course it was a dirty hit but the guy turned away from the hit and thats a coward move to and being a defense man your told to take the body on the guy and if he misses the check hes getting in shit from his coach. Players also get caught up in the heat of the game and do things that they normally wouldnt.

Pens, you obviously don't have a son or daughter playing hockey, do you????? If you do I feel sorry for your kid/kids. The D-man or any other plyer might be told to take the BODY, but not the HEAD.

As far as where this has to be taken care of? IMO it is up to the NHL to put a stop to it. These kids and thier parents see the money being paid to players and see what is on TV. The NHL allows it and in some cases (tough players / hard hitters) applaud it. If the NHL doesn't start doing what the Quebec league has the guts to do, someone WILL be killed!

Just to clarify my last 2 posts. I love a good hard hitting game& I love hockey fights. Dirty hits and especially hits to the Head are not excusable at any level of play. To try to excuse it as The HEAT of the Moment is insane!

I think this is just what happens when our young men don't bring home the Gold.

Any hit is fine - players at this level should know and accept the risks.

I keep saying this, Elbowing in hockey has aways been there and will aways be there.
They need to change the equipment if you have a soft elbow pad and not a ROCK as a elbow pad players will not get hurt. If Gordie Howe had the elbow pads we have today he would have killed a few people.
CHANGE THE EQUIPMENT !!!!

Right on Tom, RIGHT FREAKIN' ON!!!!!!!!!

Looked like a shoulder to me. Keep your head up.

its part of the game and always will be enjoy the game don't try to destroy it publicly for alterior motives

I don't think this was as bad as the Cormier hit and probably wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't for that one happening recently. Other than the visor breaking perhaps because the elbow pads are tougher than the visors, it didn't appear as viscious and premeditated. It looked more like a check that got away from him than an attempt to injure. His suspension should be less than Cormier's and I hope he isn't punished more than he should be. It wasn't a great viewing angle though.

I woiuld like to see another angle, but cant find one. its bad of course, looks like he tries to pop the kid back to protect his route to the puck. He's not lookn' at Durette at all, and Durette reaches in for a stick check. Not clean by any means but you cant judge the intent by the result!! Tom's got it, bann the hard platic pads accept maybe the spine guard and chest, not on the elbows or shoulders. and lets teach the kids to take a check when they start, not when they're teen agers...too many hormones!!!