hf101 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 As per an article in the Score: http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1067652-report-linesman-hit-by-wideman-had-neck-surgery-career-may-be-over Quote The effects of the Dennis Wideman incident are still very real for NHL linesman Don Henderson. The official underwent neck surgery early in July to repair damage from the hit, and there's concern his on-ice career may be finished, according to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. Henderson was knocked to the ice from behind by the Calgary Flames defenseman in a game back on Jan. 27. Wideman - who was later diagnosed with a concussion - was originally suspended 20 games, and the sentence was later reduced to 10 by a neutral arbitrator. Henderson, meanwhile, was unable to return to the ice through the balance of the regular season due to injury. "I know a lot of people are saying stuff like, 'Hey, Wideman’s not that type of guy . . . that’s not in his nature . . . he’s a good kid,'" a fellow official told Dupont. "And I say, 'Yeah, so what?!' That doesn’t make it any less egregious. He attacked him from behind, the puck was nowhere near the two of them, and now Henderson’s career may be finished." The NHL has since filed a lawsuit against the Players' Association with a view to vacate the reduced suspension ruling. 1 I wouldn't be surprised to see a civil lawsuit filed by Henderson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Wow. I remember seeing that incident and thinking that it didn't look that bad..... Wideman better pray that Henderson can go back to work - he should never have made contact with Henderson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 45 minutes ago, hf101 said: I wouldn't be surprised to see a civil lawsuit filed by Henderson. I was thinking the very exact thing as I was reading the post.......This is just flat out ugly with a capital "U". This story won't go away and I expect to hear more as we get closer to the start of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 This could mean the end of Wideman as an effective player too....not that he was ever an elite player mind you. Why? Well, unless the man is COMPLETELY without remorse, that ref's career being ended will be a constant reminder to Wideman of what he did. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if it affected how he plays on the ice...and if it affects him negatively and he becomes just a body out there, seeing as how he was an average defenseman to begin with. Look at what happened with Todd Bertuzzi all those years ago....after the incident where he basically took away Steve Moore's chance at an NHL career, Bertuzzi was never quite the same player. And Bertuzzi was a relative animal too. So if a cretin like Bertuzzi can be affected by his actions that cost someone else their livelihood, I would think someone like Dennis Wideman, who doesn't drag his knuckles as much as Bertuzzi, certainly would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 17 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: This could mean the end of Wideman as an effective player too....not that he was ever an elite player mind you. Why? Well, unless the man is COMPLETELY without remorse, that ref's career being ended will be a constant reminder to Wideman of what he did. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if it affected how he plays on the ice...and if it affects him negatively and he becomes just a body out there, seeing as how he was an average defenseman to begin with. Very good points and I totally agree. I never though of Wideman as a dirty player or a player who played on the edge like a Zac Rinaldo type player, but as you mentioned he will have to live with actions for the rest of his career because of one bad choice made. Such a shame...nobody wins here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polaris922 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 His BS excuse making is sickening. You don't extend your arms after hitting a guy you "didn't see until the last second" or try to hit. I get it that his head may not have been fog free, but there's a certain level of malice there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 12 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: This could mean the end of Wideman as an effective player too....not that he was ever an elite player mind you. Why? Well, unless the man is COMPLETELY without remorse, that ref's career being ended will be a constant reminder to Wideman of what he did. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if it affected how he plays on the ice...and if it affects him negatively and he becomes just a body out there, seeing as how he was an average defenseman to begin with. Look at what happened with Todd Bertuzzi all those years ago....after the incident where he basically took away Steve Moore's chance at an NHL career, Bertuzzi was never quite the same player. And Bertuzzi was a relative animal too. So if a cretin like Bertuzzi can be affected by his actions that cost someone else their livelihood, I would think someone like Dennis Wideman, who doesn't drag his knuckles as much as Bertuzzi, certainly would be. Similar to what happened to Behold Randy (Jones) after the hit in Boston that got him suspended for two games. He looked sick on the ice immediately after. He was never exactly a great player, but he was never the same after it. Just looked timid to hit anything after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 12 hours ago, Polaris922 said: His BS excuse making is sickening. You don't extend your arms after hitting a guy you "didn't see until the last second" or try to hit. I get it that his head may not have been fog free, but there's a certain level of malice there. Great post. Completely agree. He may have been in a fog but all he was thinking was "kill!" It happened to be an official but he was looking for someone, anyone not paying attention and an easy prey at that point. Screw him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 15 hours ago, pilldoc said: This is just flat out ugly with a capital "U". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 @Polaris922 @ruxpin He skated right to the guy and then cross-checked him from behind. That's intentional in anybody's book. Eddie Shore was in a daze too, and while he went after the wrong man, he also intentionally hit Ace Bailey. He nearly killed Bailey. This is really bad, and it that incident shows that it still could've been worse (as does the Bertuzzi-Moore incident). There's no room for this kind of junk in hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.