UPDATE(9:05 PM EST) -- Salmela has refractured broken nose and lost several teeth. Will not return tonight, but will be okay. (per Jay Grossman)
Newly acquired Anssi Salmela was streaking down the right wing and cut across to score a nice shorthanded goal. For Salmela, it meant the beginning of a new career after leaving Atlanta in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal. Seconds after the goal, however, Salmela’s silky smooth score was all for naught, as a Jeff Carter hit left Salmela without movement.
After the hard hit, Salmela appeared to have struck his head on the ice. He laid on his stomach motionless for a very long time, and was eventually taken off the ice on a stretcher. He was able to move his legs fine, but doctors and trainers appeared to be worried about a possible spinal injury given how careful they were moving him.
The hit was immediately in question as a dirty hit, cheap shot, or head shot. Judging by the replay, it was a shoulder on shoulder check by Carter and the injury was caused by Salmela’s head hitting the ice. Regardless if this hit falls in the proverbial “gray area” we’ve come to hear about with these hits that end with injuries, there’s no doubt that Colin Campbell will certainly be in contact with Carter about the play.
What do you think? Was this a clean hit or a dirty hit? Discuss it in the comments.
I will update this post later on when the details of Salmela’s injury is revealed.
Derek can be reached at derek@peteprose.com
Derek Boucher is a native of Toronto, Canada. He covers all sports for Pete Prose.
E-mail him at derek@peteprose.com 
He might be dead
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Is this seriously under review as if it is a dirty hit or not? This is dirty as dirty gets, don’t be surprised if Carter gets out a few games.
I wouldn’t call it “as dirty as dirty gets” by any means
NO PENALTY!
Carter should get 5+shower+out2-3games
Somebody get keilled in this kind of cut.
Carter didnt play puck, just trying to knock
Salmela down. DIIIIIIIRTY play.
“Judging by the replay, it was a shoulder on shoulder check by Carter and the injury was caused by Salmela’s head hitting the ice.” I think Salmela was knocked cold when he still was in the air. More like shoulder to head/neck hit.
You guys are all girls.
Carter hit him shoulder to shoulder and he hit him hard. Giving a hard body check to the shoulder (in which the guys head hits the ice afterwards) doesn’t warrant any suspension whatsoever. Wayne and unanimous need to take their skirts and gtfo.
DIRTY PLAY, do you not realize he scored a goal and then got hit? Learn how to fucking play hockey, all of you who don’t think that is a dirty hit, go back to fucking Phili and suck a dick.
i dont think the hit itself was dirty, but i think he should have gotten a charging call. he was skating so fast looking to hit him the whole way, not sure but i would have called charging
Giving a hard body check to the shoulder (in which the guys head hits the ice afterwards) doesn’t warrant any suspension whatsoever.
No it does not, but please look at the replay and be honest. It’s shoulder to head.
It was a clean hit and that’s why no penalty was called. To the people who think it was a dirty hit I say you need to get a copy of the NHL rulebook and you’ll see why there was nothing wrong with that hit. Jeff Carter is not a dirty player by any means. There is absolutely no reason for the NHL to take action. If they do, the the refs who worked the game need to be fired for not calling a penalty and that won’t happen. It was a clean hit all the way through.
That was, in no way, a charge
I hope he was sidney, they comments would be more fair
Uhh, right.
I wouldn’t care who it is.
I love the game of hockey for what it is. Those of you who don’t like hard hits (clearly he hit the shoulder I wish someone could get a still of it or a slow motion gif that shows it for the blind retards posting here), then go and watch curling its on Sportsnet like every night.
If Jeff Carter gets suspended it will be a joke.
It was dirty hit as ever, ref has made remarkable mistake -> you can clearly see Carter hits straight to Salmela’s head and neck area. It can never be clean that tackle!
You North Americans are such chicken that you are too blind to see that.
Its a very good question what would you say if it was sidney, but now when its a finn/def. like Anssi you change your views and adjust them to suit “Carter’s case” – you are cowards to admit that. Carter shouldnt play professional hockey, he is 110% jerk!
Derrick, you better see a doctor if your eyes say its a shooulder-to-shoulder.. your eyes must have serious disease.
It’s pretty ironic to say people are being biased towards Carter when most of us have no bias for him besides him being Canadian (a ton of players the NHL are Canadian) yet you’re clearly from Finland being biased yourself.
Turn to 4:14, you can see it perfectly.
It was a high hit, your shoulders are considered high.
Not only was it to his shoulders, but he was leaning forward taking a shot so your point is moot that it is Jeff Carter’s fault regardless of if you want to believe me or not.
I watched 7 minutes of that video and not once did they mention it being a headshot.
Probably because it wasn’t a headshot.
It was clearly a shoulder to head hit with a violent impact (the way Salmela flew in the air he seemed to be already out}. How much it was due to frustration and how intentional the hit was, only Carter knows? (It should not go unpunished)
I don’t get you guys. Carter’s shoulder doesn’t come in contact with Salmela’s head. I don’t get how you can miss that. If anything, the force had Salmela’s own shoulder hit him in the head if he was “out” before he hit the ground.
I’m not sure how people are claiming that hit to be illegal in any way, if you have 2 eyes then you should be ble to see that the hit is very clearly shoulder to shoulder
If that’s NHL-hockey;what’s the differnt whit sreetvioelenc?
Carter hit him and went upwards (what you’re supposed to do in an open ice hit) thats why he flung back so much. Derek explained it well saying if anything it was Salmela’s own shoulder that hit him in the head.
Also, if he had a broken nose and broken teeth, one can assume that that happened upon impact with the ice, considering his head was turned semi in the opposite direction. Its logical to assume that what knocked him out was when his head hit with that much impact.
You did not just compare hockey with street violence…
You’re probably the same guy who sits there and winces when he sees a UFC event with mixed martial artists in an octagon.
It is CRAZY to even compare the two things. In street violence people are victims of something beyond their power. People who are victims don’t put themselves in danger, danger comes to them and theres nothing they can do about it.
In hockey, both of those guys are highly experienced athletes that choose to skate in the midst of a high paced hockey game filled with rough play. Not only did Salmela skate right into the slot (a danger zone with a D man infront of him, Mike Richards on his tail and Jeff Carter coming in from the side), he was hit with something completely legal in the sport. Shoulder to shoulder contact is allowed and it should be; hockey is a tough sport. What street violence is, is against the law; completely different.
You would be crazy to think that this ain’t a dirty hit. Almost with elbow, and straight to the head. He didn’t try to get the puck, just wanted to crush Anssi. Bad play. Should get a game misconduct on that.
The point of a bodycheck is to temporarily take the guy out of the play. I don’t see how that’s street violence. An unfortunate landing for Anssi doesn’t make it a dirty hit.
Some people here are totally blinded by the love of the violent hockey. Anssi scored a great goal, he really didn’t expect that some lunatic will come and slaughter him when the situation was over. There’s no excuse for Carter’s hit. Period.
You can’t just say it was “almost an elbow”.
It either was or it wasn’t. Jeff Carter clearly used his shoulder.
He wasn’t trying to get the puck because he was finishing a hit that happened a split second after the puck was shot off of his Salmela’s stick. If that hit happens a second earlier he doesn’t get the shot off and they don’t score a goal.
What makes you think Carter had a personal vendetta against him? He would have thrown the hit on anyone to try and prevent that goal.
Jeff Carter hit him almost a split second after he shot, it wasn’t like Salmela was celebrating a nice shot and Carter came up and popped him in the head. It happened within seconds and it was clean.
Carter was simply late. The puck was in the net when he hit Salmela.
Shoulder to shoulder??
What a laugh. If one claims that he/she is in need of pair of glasses. Just check the video at 4:19 and you can clearly see how Salmela is struck to head and neck area at least as much as on his shoulder.
Dirty deeds done dirt cheap – not even a penalty as a result of this? Most likely there will be some sort of aftermath.
The hit was late and it was NOT a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Of course Salmela should have kept his head up but carter came too fast, didn’t even look the puck and hit right to the head. Pretty dirty I think!
Shoulder to shoulder that is true, but the hit was coming behind and Carter was doing it much to hard. Next time he can do it face to face….
That hit wasn`t hockey, it was something else. May it would be better that Jeff take new profession, maybe timber? If he will have those bad days still again.
-RB
Horrible. This is why I dont watch icehockey because it’s come to this. People are saying this is part of game…hah. If you really think this is right way to play hockey and there was nothing wrong, you should go and get your head checked or something.
I dont even care if that was clean or dirty but if guy is unconscious on the ice there is something wrong…Do you get some extra goals if you make people fall like weed and/or you hurt em?
I taught they were trying to make more goals than other team…perhaps I am missing something or the rules have changed.
If this isn’t a clear case of elbowing, than what on earth is?!
I can understand why many of my friends, earlier devoted hockey fans, have opted to leave hockey for good since the violence seems to be ever increasing.
Jeff Carter is asshole.
Definately a dirty hit. Yes, it is a shoulder-to-shoulder hit, but Carter is coming full speed from a death ankle with the only intention to take him out. In addition he is also late and doesn’t slow down a bit before the hit although the puck is already in the net. It’s all about respecting your fellow players, although playing hard. Unfortunately that hit hadn’t anything to do with mutual respect to each other and deserves suspension and look into the mirror from Carter.
I’m finnish so I root for salmela, but I still think it was a clean tackle.
The puck was in the net like half a second before the hit, you can’t stop yourself in motion that quickly. And it was shoulder-to-shoulder.
I would’ve prolly called a charging – 2 mins penalty. Not a particularly dirty hit, but very badly judged hit. Shoulder to shoulder hit, but tackle from a position where Salmela couldn’t even guess it coming. Salmela even checked, before consentrating on the puck, that there wasn’t anyone coming there. (at 4:27)
Not a hit that deserves action afterwards imho. Devils didn’t get a 2 minutes power play in game, but that happens all the time. Very bad luck on Salmela to land on his face too.
The hit wasnt unlegal, only thing unlegal was that is was a LATE hit. Salmela didnt have the puck anymore. Of course the bodychecker didnt realise that when he started the bodycheck. Neverteless, it should be punished
carter is f*cking gay!
Jeff carter? An ice hockeyplayer? NO f…ing WAY. The Hit was too high and too dirty. And it came out of the bushes….
Penalty to Salmela. He was delaying TV commercials and next TV show.
With regard go rules, the tackle was at the grey zone, but what matters is the intention of the act. AWFUL. This is why I don’t watch icehockey any more.
Isn’t it amazing that everyone wants to crucify Carter for this hit. I seem to recall a shoulder to head hit delivered by Scott Stevens in the playoffs one year on Erik Lindros which pretty much ended the career for Lindros. He was a shell of a man after that. In my opinion, Stevens was one of the dirtiest players in hockey at the time. However, everyone thought that was a beautiful hit and clean. People have short memories!!!!!
No way was that late. Anything looks late in slow motion.
This is not hockey anymore! Who the hell is Jeffe Carter!!!!