During last week’s game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs, defenseman Zach Whitecloud laid a heavy hit on Matthew Knies that has sparked recent controversy.
After several hit-to-the-head checks over the past week, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety released a video on X on Thursday that analyzed and further explained Rule 48 – the illegal check-to-the-head rule. One hit that was discussed in the video was Whitecloud’s hit on Knies which went un-penalized.
In the five-minute video, the Department of Player Safety emphasized that for a hit to be illegal the main point of contact must be the head and it has to be determined whether the head was avoidable.
“It does not matter what part of the player was impacted first.” the video stated. “What matters is what part of the player absorbed the majority of the impact of the hit.”
When referencing Whitecloud’s check, the Department of Player Safety deemed that Whitecloud avoided both of those factors.
Many people have shared their opinions on the hit but ultimately, the only opinion that has any effect is the DOPS.
“On the hit by Whitecloud, Whitecloud hits through the body of Knies. While there is inarguably head contact here, we see Knies’ entire body stopped in its tracks and driven backwards simultaneously with his head in a way that indicates the body absorbed the force of this check.”
The DOPS praised the 27-year-old’s angle of approach noting that he stepped up directly through Knies’ core and avoided unnecessarily elevating into the hit.
“Whitecloud takes a good angle of approach, stepping up directly through Knies’ core. And while Whitecloud does come up off the ice due to the force of the contact of the hit, he does not elevate up excessively or unnecessarily to pick the head as he delivers the check. This means that the head contact on this play is considered unavoidable head contact on a play where the hitter is throwing an otherwise legal full body check.”
Whitecloud plays hockey physically. He’s a force around the boards, in front of his net and dangerous when lining up opponents in open ice. He’s never been suspended and there’s no other history to indicate that Whitecloud was targeting Knies’ head.
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