Vegas player leaps into body check against Devils rookie, and Player Safety scratches their heads

One thing we've seen a lot of recently are egregious hits that fly in the face of player safety. With the pattern of rookies not knowing how to come into the NHL and take a hit, there was another terrible hit tonight that involved rookie Simon Nemec.

As the announcer says, there is a litany of different things that you could fault Brett Howden for here. The hit is on a player with their back fully turned, which of course can be argued either way. Furthermore, he clearly leads into the hit with his elbow, what looks to be head level on Nemec, and also leaves his feet to deliver the hit which is illegal in the NHL.

Between all these factors, the NHLPA definitely has a case for suspension. With their recent track record of what seems to be a random amount of games to ban players for, it'll be interesting to see what the enforcement is like on this hit. Players need to be given consequences for illegal hits again, and I think this is a perfect one to start on.


Instead, at the moment it appears no discipline is coming for Howden - continuing the bizarre inconsistencies of Player Safety.