The Fistric Hit & Suspension

With the marvels of technology, freeze frames, slow motion and just about every angle under the sun, it seems far too simple for Shanahan to be able to dissect the anatomy of a hit and come to a conclusion on it. I mean even an amateur like me can make a clean hit look "bad".

Remember Subban on Marchand last year when he absolutely rung his bell?

Look at the easy freeze frame clip...

Talk about Subban's feet being significantly above the ice...not to mention Marchand flying through the air due to the collision.

But as easy as it is for me to freeze a frame to make a picture look like something it is not (an illegal hit), it isn't that easy for Shanahan to look at all the angles of a hit at varying speeds and come up with a fair assessment on play in a hockey game. The new disciplinarian has been striving to freeze frames and provide, in his mind, logical and unbiased explanations and reasoning for suspension verdicts all season long. Except this guy has a very difficult job to do, because no matter what, somebody won't be pleased.

This is how he explained the 3 game suspension on Mark Fistric for his hit on Nino Niederreiter...



For obvious reasons, the Dallas fans are up in arms at the ruling handed down by Shanahan the way most Canadiens fans were livid when Pacioretty was assessed three games for his hit on Letang. Then there is the New York Islander perspective - most probably content with the three game suspension but not amused that their first round pick, Nino Niederreiter, is out with a concussion.

And then of course, there are the fans and media of every other team in the league who don't really care too much because the decision does not directly affect them, their team or what they may talk about at the water cooler.

So let me try and take the "I'm not affected stance" and comment on this hit and the suspension.

The Hit

• Fistric's feet did leave the ice prior to making contact with Niederreiter
• He propelled his body forward from a stationary position to hit Niederreiter rather than skating into him directly to make contact
• Fistric stopped skating, crouched down into a defensive position and lined up Niederreiter along the boards. But instead of letting Niederreiter come to him as he skated towards him with the puck, he lunged at him, thus lifting his feet off the ice and making the hit illegal
• The closest referee to the play, Brad Meier, who was just inside the Dallas blue line when the hit took place at center ice, completely blew the call. That was a clear mistake on his part
• It appears that Niederreiter's concussion did not result from the initial hit as his head was not the first point of contact, but rather the concussion appears to result from his head snapping back and hitting the ice due to the Fistric's brute force
• Had Fistric not left his feet before he made contact, the way Phaneuf did not leave his feet before line-driving Sauer into next Tuesday, he would not have been suspended. I acknowledge that Phaneuf's skates did leave the ice on that hit, but that was as a result of the force of the collision and not because his skates left the ice prior to contact. Take a look...

The Suspension

• Just over one third into the 2011-2012 NHL season, Shanahan has dolled out his 19th suspension
• This was the second suspension handed out for a charging infraction
• The first charging infraction was on Jordin Tootoo who got two games for steamrolling Ryan Miller in his crease
• Fistric, like Tootoo, has a supplemental discipline history as he was fined once before during his career for an action during an altercation
• The reason Fistric got 3 games was due to the fact that Niederreiter was injured on the play, with a concussion no less. That is the difference between 2 and 3 games
• Fistric's 3 game suspension is still under the average number of regular season games suspended for the 19 players who have faced supplemental discipline. That number is 3.15 games
• Given the circumstances of the skates leaving the ice prior to contact, the resulting concussion on the play and a minor supplemental discipline history, Shanahan made the right call in my "unaffected" world

And is it just me, or is Shanahan looking more and more exhausted in these videos as of late?