Decoding the new headshot rule.

Hits to the Head

The new rule regarding lateral headshots reads like this: ”a lateral, back-pressure or blind-side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact.” I agree with it, I think in most situations on the lateral hit, there is time for a player making the hit to aim lower. However there remain head hits that are lateral that are purely accidental. The rule would still penalize these plays, but only with a 2 minute minor, which may not be right but it is acceptable.

Here is an in-depth look at what will and wont be leagal. Of these hits 5 of them I believe to be 2 min type plays. The Richards hit on Booth is clearly not 100% to the head, the Stafford on on Keith is a reaction play and it sppears that Stafford is only backchecking hard, Carter on Salmela was shoulder to shoulder contact, Salmela was knocked unconscious when his head struck the ice, the neil hit on Drury whcih appears to be shouder to shoulder and again, Drury is knocked out when striking the ice, and the final one is Bell on Aldfredsson which was applauded as the hit of the year a few years back and is shoulder+head. The Matt Cooke hit is clearly an attempt to hit the other player solely in the head from his blind side and should result in a 5 minute major, game misconduct and supplemental discipline.


It is vital that clean, unintentional head shots not be removed from the sport of hockey. The onus must still be on the hittee when unintentional head contact is made with the shoulder. Examples of head contact that is also clean is shown in that video. Here are several other examples:



This hit is a clear example of where it is the player being hit’s fault that he is concussed. Doug Weight has 0 time to react and readjust his hit. He also cannot let Sutter past him, as it would be a clear cut break away.

Example 2:



Here are 2 situations where head to head contact is inadvertently made. In the first one Slater who is around 6 ft tall hits the gargantuan 6’8 in Myers, head contact is made due to a height difference. In the Oshie example he hits Jovanovski in the head with a surprise hit that catches him off guard.

Example 3:


Here is a situation where Phaneuf is knocked down and Winchester inadvertently hits him in the head.

Here is some more clarification on the new rules:




All in all I think the rule change will work, though it is a step towards no hit hockey, and as many people will consider this a hyperbole, let it be known that even the smallest change will eventually lead into something drastic. The NHL need to be very, very careful in regards to hitting.