NHL Forced to Release Statement After Controversy Over Department of Player Safety Rulings on Hits to the Head
The NHL Department of Player Safety just released a video explaining why Zach Whitecloud was not given a suspension for his hit on Matthew Knies.
Whitecloud's hit last night sent the hockey world into a frenzy, sparking fierce debate online and in Toronto.
Former head coach Bruce Boudreau shared his thoughts, saying it should have been five and a game adding to the wide array of opinions on the topic.
Today, the NHL has doubled down on their stance that it was a clean hit, releasing a special video comparing the play to previous hits this season.
Whitecloud takes a good angle of approach, stepping up directly through Knies' core. And while Whitecloud does come up off the ice due to the force of the contact of the hit, he does not elevate up excessively or unnecessarily to pick the head as he delivers the check."
While fans were generally appreciative of the fact that we actually got an explanation this time, most are not buying it.
There are several sticking points. The most obvious one is that Whitecloud did in fact leave his feet to make the hit, which is fairly obvious based on the video evidence.
However, many fans also take grievance with the argument that the head was not the principle point of contact.
Just because Knies was completely stopped in his tracks does not mean the head was not the primary point of contact. It simply means that he was hit from an angle that completely killed his momentum.
Additionally, Knies was seen holding his head after the hit, a good indication that his body was fine because it did not absorb the force.
Regardless, it is nice to at least get an explanation. It might not be a satisfactory one, but that's just the way the NHL is most of the time.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 18 | 14 | 4 | - | 28 | |
Capitals | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 27 | |
Wild | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 27 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Devils | 21 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
Stars | 18 | 12 | 6 | - | 24 | |
Golden Knights | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||