Look. I’m not trying to be “homerific,” as I was called by one kind Flyers fan.

I’m not saying that the hit wasn’t clean or, for that matter, that there was any part of the hit that was illegal. There wasn’t. It was a clean hit on a player that was, unfortunately, in a vulnerable position.

But that’s just it. The player was in a vulnerable position making the hit, no matter how clean, a dangerous hit.

Unfortunately, a lot of these hits happen to occur when the Flyers are involved. Physical play is engrained in the fabric of this team and with physical play sometimes comes reckless play and that’s exactly what this hit was — reckless.

I don’t think that it was pre-meditated. I don’t think that Carter’s intent was to injure Salmela and I honestly do believe that he feels remorseful about the hit.

But here’s where the recklessness comes into play.

One of the justifications for the hit was “If there is a rebound and Salmela puts it in, it’s Carter’s fault for not hitting him.”

That just isn’t true.

If there’s a rebound and Salmela puts it in, it isn’t Carter’s fault for not hitting him; it’s Richards’ fault for not tying up his stick and allowing him a second chance. It was Richard’s man.

This hit was so reckless because of the fact that Carter didn’t need to hit him to prevent him from scoring. Richards was right there with him and could have easily tied him up to prevent the rebound from coming home.

My point in all of this is that it wasn’t an illegal hit. By the letter of the law, it was 100% legal. But that doesn’t mean it was a clean hit.

After the puck was in the net, Salmela was in a dangerous position, with his back to Carter, with another player draped on him.

There was absolutely no reason to hit him — especially not that viciously.

That was my point. Not that the Flyers suck or that the Flyers are a dirty team or even that Jeff Carter should be drawn, quartered, and suspended for life.

My point was that the league needs to come down on these types of hits firmly. They need to do away with headshots or dangerous hits like these. Trust me, I am all for a physical brand of hockey, but only if it is done responsibly. Where is the respect for the player and the game?

Unfortunately, it’s likely going to take someone getting seriously injured, or even death, before the league decides to take any sort of action on anything like this, especially when a star player involved.

Hockey Primetime’s Three Stars of the Night (2.10.2010)

NY Daily News should be informed that the Devils don’t play at the Izod Center

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I am not going to question if the hit on Anssi Salmela was premeditated because it appears it wasn’t. Flyer and Devil fans can all agree that we do not want to ever see a player laid out on the ice motionless. But why does it keep happening?

Since the lockout, Philadelphia Flyers have developed a reputation for dangerous hits that would warrant a lengthy suspension. Jeff Carter’s hit should be reviewed and whatever punishment Colin Campbell dishes out should be more than what the referees gave out last night, which was nothing.

In late 2007, NHL brass warned the Flyers’ GM about cleaning up their act. They did for awhile, but now they returned back to their old ways. I am sure Carter was remorseful, but that is not enough to stop these hits. Campbell should finally take a firm stand once and for all. These violent hits are not good for the game.

Here is the list of high profile dangerous hits by Flyers’ players since 2007:

Anssi Salmela –hit by Jeff Carter
David Booth – hit by Mike Richards
Dean McAmmond – Hit by Steve Downie
Patrice Bergeron – Hit by Randy Jones
Ryan Kesler – Hit by Jesse Boulerice
Andrew Alberts – Hit by Scott Hartnell
Matt Niskanen – Hit by Riley Cote

Here is a good article by J.P. Hoornstra. It is titled: Anatomy of a winning streak

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