No Punishment For Richards After Booth Hit
October 25, 2009 by Jeanne Dupuis
Filed under Injuries, NHL, News
Mike Richards will not be suspended for his hit on David Booth last night and I’m seriously shocked. He was assessed a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct for intent to injure. How can you get that type of game misconduct and not get at least a fine? It makes it seem like the league doesn’t support the ruling of the game’s officials.
image: TSN
Richards says tha there was no maliciousness in the hit and that he’s “never out there to hurt anyone” but Booth was taken off the ice on a stretcher after Richards’ shoulder made contact with his face and left him unconscious. After undergoing tests and being observed in a Philadelphia hospital overnight, he was released earlier today.
Richards added: “I have respect for the game and respect for the players. My concern is with him. Hopefully, he’s fine and gets better. I just wanted to separate him from the puck. He dished it off and everything happened so quickly. I don’t have a history of head shots and I don’t even know if it was a head shot.”
Meanwhile, Florida defenceman Keith Ballard said: “Richards knows (Booth) is in vulnerable position and goes after him. He’s done it before. That’s the same stuff they’ve been trying to cut out. The thing with Mike Richards is he’s a good, honest player. I love a lot about his game. He does a lot of things well, but then he does that stuff.”
Yeah… considering his history, again, I’m pretty disappointed that he didn’t get suspended. Here’s a video:
