You would be forgiven for thinking Jake Virtanen is a massive guy. He has been hyped as the next big power forward since before the Canucks drafted him and his ability to throw impactful hits has not abated since he made the NHL.
But Virtanen is just 6’1” and a little over 200 lbs. He’s not small, by any means, but he’s not Milan Lucic or Todd Bertuzzi, both of whom are 6’3”, 230 lbs. So while size and strength play a role in Virtanen’s crushing hits, there are two things that are just as, if not more, important: speed and technique.
Also, sometimes throwing the hit late and from the blindside helps in the overall crushing aspect of the collision.
Virtanen crossed the line in Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, hitting Roman Polak well after the puck had left Polak’s stick. He received a 5-minute major for interference and a game misconduct.
Will that be enough for the dystopianly-named Department of Player Safety or will Virtanen be forced to miss more pointless, dreary, mind-numbing games as “punishment” for his actions?
Virtanen has a couple things going for him: the hit wasn’t to the head (though the whiplash nature of the hit likely didn’t do any favours to Polak’s brain) and Polak missed all of five minutes before getting back on the ice. Actually, “all of” is incorrect: he missed 4 minutes and 59 seconds.
On the other hand, you can’t get around the lateness and blindsidedness of the hit, and Henrik Sedin didn’t even try: “It was late, blindside. I don’t think he hit his head but...it was a late hit.”
When even your captain says it was late, you know it was really late.
My suspicion is that they’ll go easy on Virtanen, particularly since there was no injury on the play and he already received about two-thirds of a suspension, missed nearly two full periods with his game misconduct. I mean, in his case that’s, like, seven minutes of ice time, but it still counts.
The Department of Player Safety will also have their hands full with another case: Duncan Keith intentionally and viciously smacked Charlie Coyle in the face with his stick. Reminder: when Keith gets angry, he tries to hurt people. Just ask Jeff Carter, Matt Cooke, and Daniel Sedin. Throw the book at him. Preferably a really heavy one when he isn't looking.
Of course, it may all depend on whether Bob McKenzie thinks Virtanen should be suspended.
