frankly, I like where the league is going allowing bear-hugs near the boards and whatnot. that’s not what happened here, for sure. BUT, I’ll specifically point to timmonen on sid since I saw it a couple times in that video… which would you rather have? 1) kimo bear-hugs sid AFTER the point of the play in which sid has zero chance of scoring and rides him out of the play. or 2) kimo positions himself for greater leverage (I admit, that’s not easy to do on sid with or without the puck) and then comes up with both arms or a solid shoulder and lays him out?

it wouldn’t require a head hit in that one… timmonen is strong. there’s a reason he played opposite sid or geno all day. he “could” have, completely legally, come down just enough to gain leverage and send sid back on his ass. that “could” have sent sid’s neck snapping back and/or even allowed him to get a bump from the ice. that’s something I’m concerned about myself…

I love sid as much as any other pen’s fan, but like I hated when mario would slash a players ankles or wrists, I hate when someone gets close to sid and he tosses his head back. I really hope that part of his ame is gone for his own sake. I’d hate for him to give himself whiplash (I’m being completely serious here) because of it.

sure, the bear-hugging needs to be policed just as well so that players won’t just claim they were trying to “protect” the other guy. calls won’t be perfect, but it needs to be policed. there were plenty in that game, but let’s try to put some more effort into it next time, huh?