Should Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds be suspended for his vicious hit to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown?
The Tampa Bay Lightning have definitely been dealt the short end of the stick this season; especially when it has come to injuries. In fact, the Lightning has come to a point in the season where they are losing more players than they were getting back.
Unfortunately, this pattern doesn’t seem to be getting any better anytime soon. Earlier this afternoon, as the Tampa Bay Lightning took on the Philadelphia Flyers in their final meeting of the season, the Lightning suffered more than another loss at the hands of the Flyers.
Judging by the way things looked on the ice; the Tampa Bay Lightning may have lost yet another player to injury. Unfortunately, this is a situation that was one hundred percent preventable and absolutely unnecessary.
Tampa Bay Lightning
It was late in the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning were trailing the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2. As the time continued to tick off the clock, the Lightning knew they had to make a move, and quickly, if they had any hopes of bringing home a win.
The Bolts were attempting to gain control of the puck in the neutral zone as the Flyers pressed through towards the Lightning zone. Just before Lightning forward J.T. Brown made his way through to the blueline, keeping his eyes on the puck.
As soon as he determined the puck was about to be played into the zone, he turned his attentions forward toward the Lightning zone, about the only thing J.T. Brown saw was the shoulder of Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds. In a matter of seconds, Brown was sent tumbling to the ground where his head would meet the business end of the ice.
As the play continued, Lightning players began banging their sticks in order to get the attention of the referees. Once the play was finally whistled dead, Brown was attended to by Lightning Head Athletic Trainer Tom Mulligan.
Brown remained on the ice for quite some time before he made his way off the ice and down the tunnel to the Lightning locker room. Obviously, he would not be returning to the ice for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Lightning has not made an announcement regarding the extent of Brown’s injuries or whether or not he will be forced to miss any time away from the ice.
If a guess had to be rendered based on what J.T. Brown looked like on the ice, it would be safe to assume Brown may be one of the many injured players relegated to the sidelines as the Lightning take on the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
The real question here is whether or not Wayne Simmonds deserves any sort of disciplinary action for his actions on the ice. While Simmonds’ actions may not have been malicious, it’s plain to see they were intentional. He made no effort to stop from colliding with Brown, despite seeing him coming, and he definitely committed to the hit as he made his way to his bench.
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This wouldn’t be the first time Simmonds has been in the sights of the NHL Department of Player Safety. Back in February of 2016, Simmonds was ejected from a game against the New York Rangers for violently attacking Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh.
While Simmonds did receive a match penalty for the attack, the NHL Department of Player Safety elected not to enforce any sort of supplemental discipline on Simmonds. It seems as if he has a thing for hitting people in the head. Eventually, someone is going to get hurt, if they haven’t already.
The NHL claims these are the types of incidents they are looking to remove from the game. Unfortunately, while Player Safety has thrown the book at some people this season, consistency hasn’t exactly been a term one could use to describe them.
Simmonds may not have received any sort of discipline on the ice, which is sad of and within itself, but there is no denying this is worth at least a look by the NHL Department of Player Safety. Whether this will actually happen, and if it does, whether or not anything will come of it is yet to be seen.
Next: J.T. Brown Forced To Leave Game After Hit To The Head (Video)
No matter what the outcome, we here at Bolts By The Bay wish J.T. Brown a full and speedy recovery from whatever injury he may have sustained at the hands of Wayne Simmonds. No player deserves to have their career put on the line because of someone else’s carelessness.