MMA-Style Takedown In NHL Fight Could Have Ended Very Badly
Connor McMichael and Jalen Chatfield (James Guillory-Imagn Images)Everything in Connor McMichael's life is going wonderfully at the moment. At the age of 24, the Washington Capitals winger has established himself as a legitimate scoring power forward on one of the best teams in the NHL and has reached the 25-goal mark for the first time in his career.
All of that could have been affected Wednesday night in Raleigh, when he was flipped over MMA-style by Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield. He very nearly hit the back of his non-helmeted head on the ice. If he had, it could have been bad. Very bad. Just as it could have been a couple of weeks ago when Tri-City Americans defenseman Terrell Goldsmith was knocked out cold in a WHL game in March.
Sometimes it seems as though the NHL is waiting for something bad to happen before it does something about penalizing fighting more severely. Even then, it might not be prompted to act.
Today's video column has more.
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