There has been some debate as to whether the Janssen hit was an elbow and late. The 3 game suspension appears to have settled the debate to a certain extent. I watched the video below several times and not only was it a late hit but Janssen didn't start to skate towards Kaberle until after he made the pass. It's obvious Janssen was trying to hurt Kaberle although not necessarily trying to injury him (although as a write this I'm not sure what the distinction is) because he was aiming for his head. But it was not a case of just finishing a check.
The clip below includes the infamous Domi elbow to the head of Scott Niedermayer which was perhaps more grievous than the Janssen hit. That earned Domi an 8 game suspension. This type of stuff just doesn't belong in hockey. The NHL has to come down hard on hits to the head. That's is the issue in both the Janssen and Domi hits. The other similarity is both involved injuries to star players caused by players with marginal skills.
12 years ago
