Face It, It’s Clean: Johnny Boychuk Levels Matt Stajan

The Bruins and Leafs erupt into a "line-brawl" after Boychuk's big hit on Stajan, a now common scene when a player is hit hard

The topic of how the NHL should handle hits to the head has rightfully been beaten to death. Especially with the recent New York Times story of the now deceased Reggie Fleming, and his head-trauma sustained throughout his playing days that may have led to his death, the focus of the NHL has been on reducing violent headshots.

Since the humble beginnings of the NHL with players such as Howie Morenz and Eddie Shore, the game of hockey has been noted for its raw physicality and hard-nosed style embodied by their players. However, with the relatively major injuries sustained and careers shortened due to concussions over the past twenty years in the case of players such as Pat LaFontaine, Eric Lindros and even Bruins center Patrice Bergeron on two separate occasions, the league has begun their firm stance on “more safety” in regards to blows to the head.

Mark Messier may be working on a new “concussion-proof” (in theory) helmet, but the risk among the NHL players is still there.

In a season where we’ve already seen Florida Panthers star goal-scorer David Booth go near-lifeless on a Mike Richards hit, Flames forward Curtis Glencross destroy Rangers captain Chris Drury, and most recently David Koci level Caps blue-line star Mike Green with a vicious boarding, Bruins defensemen Johnny Boychuk is the latest player to come under fire for a forceful check that took a player out of the game.

During Saturday night’s match-up with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bruins were down by two goals late in the third period when Boychuk, playing in his sixth straight game for Boston, laid Leafs center Matt Stajan out with a booming check in the neutral zone.

Quickly being deemed as senseless-violence in what was a game that was considered a foregone conclusion, Boychuk was instantly bombarded by white-and-blue as Leafs players went at the 25-year old blue-liner as Stajan hit the ice.

“I don’t know. It could have been a clean hit, but I thought when someone gets blood on his face, most of the time is an elbow or something. You have to protect your players and you have to go after guys,” Leafs alternate captain Tomas Kaberle said regarding the hit. Regardless, Kaberle, who was involved in the ensuing melee which also featured villains-of-Boston Mike Komisarek and Phil Kessel, showed his true-colors by defending a fallen teammate, but just what makes this hit “dirty”?

Matt Stajan skates off under his own power following a devastating hit from B's defensemen Johnny Boychuk

Firstly, like Bergeron, Matt Stajan is a repeat offender. As Bruins fans can remember, this isn’t the first time the 26-year old Leafs center has been caught with his head down. It was just over a year ago that Stajan was leveled by B’s defensemen Dennis Wideman on a nearly identical play.

Johnny Boychuk, finally a full-time member of the Boston Bruins defense after a near-riot from fans to see the 6’2″ defensemen as a staple in the line-up, is simply fighting for ice-time. In a blue-line lacking Derek Morris, Mark Stuart and Dennis Wideman due to injuries, there’s no doubting the idea that Boychuk realizes his time to show off the skills that earned him the 2008-09 Eddie Shore Award was now.

Also, while the Bruins were trailing by two at the time of the hit, they were certainly not out of the game considering last night’s late third period game-tying- goal by David Krejciwith just under three minutes remaining. Fairly obvious and expected, Boychuk wasn’t going to let Stajan, who has 28 points in 35 games this season, waltz into the Bruins zone uncontested. 

So what did Boychuk do? He did what he’s done best in his brief tenure with Boston, he came up and hit the Leafs center with a ground-shaking and clean body check. Notice the lack of air beneath the blades of #55′s skates and the ice: he remains planted, and simply gets the best of the barreling center.

Just like what happened between Wideman and Stajan in Boston in 2008, the referees rightly found no offences by Boychuk on the play as there wasn’t a Macho-Man Randy Savage-esque flying-elbow incorporated, nor a crossbody heave on the behalf of the B’s rookie blue-liner.

If the second time doesn’t send the message to Stajan that you always need to keep your head up in the National Hockey League as you fly into the attacking zone, the third time may not be the charm, but rather spell the end of what could be a productive career.

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