Quick Hits: Kronwalled

Sami Salo’s “Oh ****, what do I have to do here….please don’t fight, please don’t fight…oh thank god Raymond is here.”

While on the one hand I think that he left his feet right at the moment of impact, I don’t believe the hit was so dangerous that it needs to be suspendable. He hit Kesler in the chest, there was no head contact, and Kesler was pretty obviously ok. Plus, Kronwall threw his ass into him, which is one of the softest areas of his body.

If anything, Kesler should be thanking Kronwall that it wasn’t a shoulder.

If Kronwall gets one game, I won’t cry, but it would be a bit rough for what’s really just a charge.

But if it needs to send a message, then whatever.

It was kind of a hit from behind… be it Kronwall’s behind. Was in his favorite spot for it too, just south of the opposing teams bench. The only thing that’s ever really “questionable” in any Kronwalling, is whether he left his feet or not. Most of the time though, think it’s just a result, from the amount of impact.

Watching the clips on the 12 days of X-Mas post the other day, seeing those hits for the first time in a while. If their is a few things you tend to notice. Kronner knows how to hit and knows how to hit clean. Like Babs said… he just explodes through players. Full body checks, with elbows down.

As far as Kessler’s comments… if their is another thing you notice when watching past Kronwalling’s, is that they rarely lead to any post play scrums. Aside from “the hit” on Havlat, which did more to hurt Havlat, than it did Kronner. Meaning either the players where to stunned to do anything or they were clean.

Man up Kessler, all the way. Be glad you got Kronwalled… not Cook’d and will be able to play the next game.

I usually err on the side of suspension in all cases but to me it looks like he left his feet to avoid making contact via shoulder or elbow.

Any other era, Kesler either is more careful, or dead.

It was stupid. Why jump like that?

From Malik’s preview:

"You know, to me, because of how sneaky it is, it’s a little bit dirty, and if you’re going to do that, you should pay the price, and he hasn’t paid the price yet, so…You lose a little respect in my books, for sure. I don’t know if it’s gonna take somebody jumping him, and beating the crap out of him, for him to stop that, but I don’t like it."

So hitting a guy with his head down along the boards while he’s got the puck is “sneaky”? Good gravy the hypocrisy coming from the Canucklehead players is bordering on farce. Kronwall left his feet a little, and I agree he should have gotten a penalty for charging, but there was no malicious intent, and Kesler needs to not be so damned butthurt about getting rocked.

Kesler might want to shut his mouth about Kronwall having no fights considering the last time he fought was in 2010 against noted tough guy Niclas Wallin.

I keep watching the Kronwall hit over and over again; partly for my own pleasure, and partly to dissect it and see what exactly happened. On full speed replays it’s hard to judge exactly why and when he left his feet. Did he leave his feet? Absolutely. But when I watch the hit in really slow motion, it looks to me like the very beginning contact was with the back of Kronner’s shoulder on Kesler’s chest. At that point Kronner’s left skate is so close to the ice that I can’t tell for sure exactly how far up it is and his right one is off the ice for sure. To me it looks like most of his feet coming off the ice was really close to the beginning of the impact. The other thing it looks like to me, is that if Kronner didn’t have his right skate up, which allowed him to angle his body so that his left side (which was the side that made the most contact first) was lower and in a better, clean hit position, he might have made contact either with the side of Kesler’s head, or possible hit him more with his elbow. I don’t think he should be suspended, and with a hit that hard and that fast, I think Kronwall does a good job of making sure he makes body contact. There’s no head contact, it’s not a high hit, not from behind, no elbows up, no knee on knee. I can’t see anything remotely dirty or injurious about the hit. Maybe a fine, but since it was clearly a clean hit, no illegal contact and no injury I just can’t see a suspension coming from this. Let me ask this of anyone who has a better view than I, if Kronwall doesn’t leave his feet just prior to the hit, would that have changed the nature of the hit? Would there have possibly been contact, such as knee, elbow, head, that could have had dangerous results?

Nobody got concussed, no flying elbows, no big deal.