Players and Coaches reaction to Ovechkin hit

Let's start with

James Mirtle:

That play, call it a push if you will, is always a penalty – and often a severe one – in hockey. I've seen that called my entire life, in the WHL, when I played in house league, in the NHL – everywhere. There's very, very little grey there; it's as black and white as it gets.

I think Quenneville phrased it better, "It was a tough hit. A dangerous hit." A tough hit, a dangerous hit, but for the most part it's not a penalty. Watch Craig Adams pushing Ovechkin face first into the boards. It was more dangerous than Campbell going shoulder first into the boards (broken neck or broken clavicle?). But Ovi got up, Campbell didn't. Adams didn't even have a penalty, Ovi got 2 games suspension.

Bob McKenzie's tweet:

Truth is the Ovechkin hit on Campbell, or some form of it, happens in almost every game, but if there's no injury, there's no penalty.

So there, Mr. Mirtle, it's not always a penalty, it's even opposite for the most part.

Now let's see what other players, journalists and coaches say, was it malicious, like James is trying to describe it? No, they disagree, they see it as an unfortunate accident.

[Update: Oops, I've got a comment from James Mirtle himself. I read it again and my apologizes to Mr. James Mirtle, he didn't use the word "malicious"]

Pothier said he had seen replays of Ovechkin's hit on Campbell. His take:

"Ovechkin pushes him from the side. I think Campbell has to know he's going to be hit and knows he's coming.

"I personally think [Campbell] got his foot caught in a rut and fell awkwardly. I didn't think it was a dirty play or anything. It's unfortunate he got hurt, but I don't think it was all Ovechkin's fault."

Mile High Hockey - A Colorado Avalanche Fan Community:

Known as Alexander "the Great" in D.C., he has single-handedly been responsible for the turn around of that franchise. With him in the lineup, they have won the Southeast division title the last 3 years, including already clinching the title this season.

There is also no doubt that there is also some controversy surrounding Ovechkin as well. He plays every shift like it is going to be his last, and leaves it all out on the ice. Unfortunately, this style of play ends up costing him. As most everyone knows, he laid a "careless" hit on Brian Campbell of the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon. I am calling it careless because he wanted to make contact without thinking of where Campbell was on the ice (several feet from the boards, coming in at full speed). I am not going to call it a dirty hit, because it wasn’t. In my opinion, there was no malicious intent in the hit. He didn’t want to hurt Campbell and even offered a hand gesture apologizing to Campbell immediately following the hit.

NESN analyst Mike Milbury:

For starters, Milbury feels that Ovechkin should not have been suspended, feeling that the play was a victim of unfortunate circumstances.

The discussion then moved to Ovechkin and whether he is more skilled than Mark Messier, a hockey great.

"He is more skilled than Messier," Milbury said. "He has more of a mean streak in him... I would love to have him on my team any day of the week."

NHL senior vice president and director of hockey operations Colin Campbell will sit down with Mike Milbury on NESN this Thursday. The conversation will air on W.B. Mason's Bruins Face-Off Live and during the first intermission of the Bruins-Penguins game.

Milbury will ask Campbell about his decision not to suspend Matt Cooke for his hit against Marc Savard. Campbell also will discuss his decision to suspend Alex Ovechkin for his hit on Brian Campbell.

What made those two plays different? Campbell will explain.

Damien Cox:

Another Cooke-like rat, Tampa's Steve Downie, tried to put a figure-four leglock on Sidney Crosby on the same day Ovechkin hit Campbell, and walked away scot-free. In another game, Islander tough guy Matt Martin drilled Dion Phaneuf face-first into the ledge along the boards from behind with no puck in sight after he and his teammates had vowed to get even with Phaneuf for an incident earlier in the season. Martin's punishment? A two-minute penalty.

But they got Ovechkin, a guy who stands up for himself and requires no goon for backup.

And finally Olympic gold medal and Stanley Cup winning coach Mike Babcock's reaction:

Detroit reaction to Ovechkin hit:

Nicklas Kronwall: I thought the hit itself didn't look that bad. If Ovechkin didn't have that much speed or that force that he has, I don't think we would have that problem. Obviously nobody wants to see someone gets hurt.

Mike Babcock: Well, I didn't comment on Cooke, to me the other one is way more severe than this one. In my opinion when I watched it, and I've seen all the angles, it's a stronger guy pushing another guy. The accident, it's very unfortunate, that it happened. To me I didn't think it was... oh well, I am not in charge... I don't know.

Well, maybe it was not a final note. I've got an email about Barry Melrose from Catherine, "I just watched Barry Melrose speak on 'Pardon the Interruption' on ESPN during the "Five Good Minutes" segment. He spoke extensively on the NHL hits of the past few weeks and vehemently defended Ovi's hit on Campbell. Just a heads up so you can look for it, or parts of it, on YouTube. It was fantastic."

I'll post the video as soon as it will become available.

Daily Herald, March 17, 2010:

"I think he's reckless," Adam Burish said. "I don't think he's dirty. I think he is definitely reckless and he's not always in control of what's going on. I have no problem playing that way, but you need to answer the consequences.

"I love the way he plays. I think he's the best player in the league. I love watching him. I love playing against him, but if you're going to play that way you need to answer the bell and you need to expect that you're going to get suspended here and there."

Patrick Sharp was happy to see the NHL at least gave Ovechkin some sort of suspension.

"In my opinion the guy (Campbell) was in a vulnerable position and it was a dangerous play," Sharp said. "I have nothing against Ovechkin. I'm a big fan and I love the way he plays the game, but I just think there's a time and place to play physical, and that wasn't it.

"It's tough to suspend the best player in the game, but it's nice to see they gave him something."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, unlike Boudreau, took the high road.

"We've got to move on," Quenneville said. "That stuff is part of the game and something you have to deal with it. It can happen to you or it can happen the other way around. I think the league did what it felt it had to do.

"It was a dangerous hit and a dangerous play. That's where it's at."

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