Seabrook: 'That Hit Deserves A Suspension'
By Adam Hoge--
CHICAGO (WSCR) -- A day after taking an apparent head shot from Raffi Torres, Brent Seabrook took exception to the league's decision not to suspend the Vancouver forward.
"With his history, I think that hit deserves a suspension," Seabrook said. "I'm not going to sit up here and complain about that. It's a fast game, things happen quick. You got a split-second to make a decision. I don't think he was trying to hit me in the head but at the same time, if the league's not going to suspend somebody for that I just don't really understand that."
Seabrook has a problem with the NHL's criteria for suspending players, saying it's too dependent on how much destruction the hit causes instead of concentrating on the hit itself.
"You gotta make the same judgment whether not (the victim of the hit) was lying there, taken off on a stretcher or played the next shift," Seabrook said. "I think we've seen too many times this year when a guy has been hit in the head and taken off on a stretcher or whatnot and I think there's been times when the same hit has been made and the guy gets up and plays and there's no suspension. And I think that is wrong."
Seabrook was shaken up by Torres' hit Sunday night but returned to the game. He said he'll be ready to play in Game 4 Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the Canucks disagree with Seabrook and Jannik Hansen went as far as to argue it wasn't a head shot.
"Just seeing it again this morning, I would say it's a shoulder to the chest area," Hansen said. "Obviously it's a little bit of a vulnerable position, but that's not Raffi's fault."
Don't tell that to Seabrook, who took the hit to the head.
"I think (Torres) kept his elbow in but I think he hit the head first," Seabrook said. "As far as I'm concerned, that's the first thing I felt, the only thing I felt. The rest of my body is feeling the rest of it today. Last night all I could really feel is my ear and the way it looks to me is the head was hit first. Whether or not he was targeting it or not, he made contact with the head first.
"If you're hitting a guy in the head and you're leaving your feet and you hit him right square in the melon, that's not the hit you're supposed to make." Seabrook added. "If he stays on the ice and drives his shoulder through my chest then that's the end of it. That's the end of it. I'm for that. That's a hockey play. The thing I'm upset with is the fact he hit my head. It looks to me and it felt (Sunday) night that the head was the first point of contact. That's the way I feel."
Injury report
Head coach Joel Quenneville is "optimistic" Dave Bolland and Bryan Bickell will play Tuesday. He also said Seabrook is "likely" and Tomas Kopecky is out.
Twitter: @AdamHoge670
