Scary Moment: Jeff Carter Hit Knocks Anssi Salmela Out Cold

In the wake of tonight's Flyers-Devils game, you'll hear a lot of opinions on the second-period hit by Jeff Carter on New Jersey defenseman Anssi Salmela. Some will say it was a clean hit with an unfortunate outcome, and others will say it was dirty and/or late. Here's video of the hit as it happened, and after the jump, a better-quality video that consists of a series of replays from a variety of angles. 

The hit came just after the streaking Salmela shot the puck past Michael Leighton, and when I say "just after," it really was less than a second later. 

Here are the replays:

Even with all the replay angles, hits like this are tough to call. Earlier this season, we saw an eerily similar outcome after a hit by Mike Richards on David Booth of the Panthers. Richie was penalized heavily in the game, but did not receive discipline from the league. Carter received no penalty, but we'll have to wait and see how the league responds. 

More to come, just wanted to get the videos posted for those who hadn't seen it live. 

Aside from any questions about Carter's hit, we are happy to hear that Salmela did not immediately have to leave the arena to go to the hospital. Reports from the dressing rooms say he's able to walk, but has a broken nose and lost some teeth. That would explain all the blood on the ice after the hit, and it's a huge relief to know he's likely not seriously hurt. It looked bad when wasn't moving for so long, and none of us wish that kind of harm on any player. 

The hit will be a topic of debate, and my opinion is probably somewhat tinged by my Flyers-fan bias. But, I don't believe it was a dirty hit. I've played it back slowly, and even in the second video above, in slow motion, it's still just one second from the shot to the hit, with the contact being simultaneous to the puck hitting the net (pictured at right). And, from the behind-the-net cam, you can see that Carter showed restraint in keeping his elbow tucked until after the contact. Salmela's head was down as he released the shot, and Carter did not pull up at all, skating full stride and making an open-ice check with the full force of his momentum. 

Salmela's body spun around violently, yet limply, in the air, parallel to the ice surface from several feet up. His head spun toward the ice, feet in the air, and his face made first contact. The big hit probably did a lot of damage on its own, but the after effect of landing face-first on the ice undoubtedly made the injury much worse. 

The aftermath of the hit was frustrating for those of us watching the game on Versus. The broadcast took a long time to replay the hit, keeping the camera trained on Salmela's motionless body, still face-down on the ice, offering us little in the way of what actually happened. Keith Jones was doing the color commentary, and he initially assigned the hit to Richards. We saw the stretcher on the ice before we saw a replay, and play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati along with Jones discussed the minutiae of past transactions involving Salmela while about 4 minutes passed before we saw a replay. At that point we learned it was Carter, and not Richards, who made the hit. Beninati, perhaps misspeaking more than anything else, indicated that Carter made the hit while Salmela was celebrating, which simply wasn't the case and was far more damning a scenario than what actually happened, no matter what your opinion on the hit was. Even some Flyers fans became livid with Carter in the immediate aftermath, but in retrospect, I would give Beninati the benefit of the doubt that he wasn't unfairly editorializing so much as just making a mistake based on having to speak spontaneously and perhaps not having seen sufficient replays. 

Hits like this always spawn some debate, and we're all ears as to your opinion. Ours is that it was a legal hit with a very unfortunate after effect. 

Comments

[Wilkes-Barre Sucked]

in my opinion, this is more open-shut in terms of a verdict than the Richards hit. Carter doesn't move his right limb until after the hit, and that looks more like he's trying to stop himself from falling. Salmela is almost bending at a 90 degree angle and looking down when he shoots. If you're going to score a goal like that in the NHL, you should expect to pay a price every time. Not saying it's going to happen every time, but you should expect that it could.

[dr spaceman]

man i cant decide on that one. on one hand it looks like he tried to go shoulder to shoulder and just caught him with his head lowered, on the other hand he kinda follows through with the arm.

[Unikruk]

I'm surprised Carter didn't miss.

[jd]

know what's going to infuriate me?

as with the gaborik/carcillo incident, this will be played off as carter attacking a guy who was celebrating.

[sean]

he didnt even come close to hitting him in the head. he hit him on the top of the arm/shoulder area.

[andrew]

2nd time this season the stretcher has come out for an opposing player @ the wach. i dont have a point, just saying

[Benjamin]

Maybe he should keep his F'in head up, and it wouldn't get taken off for flying blind across the ice in front of the goal. In REAL TIME, and not this super slow motion mumbo-jumbo, it's bang-bang. Carter can't do anything to stop the collision, and he put himself in an extremely vunerable position. He got rocked for it, and payed dearly. I bet he won't make the same mistake twice.

[phillyfan412]

Clean hit. I still can't believe it was Carter, though.

[will.H]

likewise, devils fans will skawk about how dirty this hit was. Then, ask them how dirty scott stevens hit was on lindros. back then im sure they thought--clean hit, keep your head up coming across the grain kiddo.

glad the guy is ok, but its just a byproduct of the legal violence allowed in hockey. dicks on NHL on the fly seem to think it was a really dirty hit. Did i miss something? Just another reason to make me think people just hate the flyers. good.

[Wilkes-Barre Sucked]

@will H

I enjoy watching the NHL Network, but unsuprisingly they have an anti-Flyers bias on their progamming. It's evident in the fact that they hardly use the Flyers in their showcasing of players for promos or their replay of games during the afternoon.

[No Name 'er]

You see this time and time again, Typical Euro player skating through the middle of the ice making a skilled play thinking he is back home in Finland not going to get hit. Wake up, you are playing in North America, we actually hit and finish checks over here. Not a head shot at all, solid, unfortunate outcome, but atleast this guy will keep his head up now.

[Mike P]

I thought it was a clean hit with an unfortunate outcome, for many of the same reasons as the people above.

I also agree that the majority of damage to Salmela's face was done due to the impact on the ice, not the actual hit. After replaying this a bunch of times, it seems that Carter's shoulder does hit Salmela's head (look at his face recoil at the very start of the hit), but it sort of moves up the shoulder, lessening the blow somewhat. The shock from his head hitting the ice, however, was brutal.

I'm torn on this. I could see it resulting in a suspension, but I don't think it should. The fact that it occurred after the puck left his stick doesn't help. Still, if there's a suspension, it certainly shouldn't last more than a game or two.

It's tough to watch, but this is hockey, and Salmela should have kept his head up.

[ron]

hockey is an inferior sport.
it's silly to play a game on skates.

[agam22]

I say this is just the result of karma for all those Scott Stevens-Eric Lindros hits

[all things bacon]

I agree with numerous posts above. If Scott Stevens' career of headhunting means he's a hall of fame player, that that was a good clean hit, and Salmela should know better.

[Brandon]

It was a clean hit. It was a good hit.

[Bernie215]

Clean hit. Good hit by Carter. It was late, as Jones says, only because Salmela took a quick shot. There's no way Carter can back off that hit given the split seconds between shot and hit.

I also dont feel bad seeing Devils get knocked the fuck out given that they had one of the dirtiest hitters in the history of the game...Scott Stevens.

[Peter King]

Good hit, lofty hit

[WeaponX20]

IMO, This is a bang-bang hit... That being said , Samela really needs to remember that this is the NHL and that just skating across the middle of the ice is probably not a great idea. If the NHL is anything like the NFL there will be no suspension. Apparently it's A-OK to hit people after they score...

But in all seriousness there shouldn't be any repercussions from this. Clean hit, nothing Carter could have done, but this is Philadelphia, and Gary Bettman does run shit in the NHL so I guess we'll see...

[VP]

There's a reason why he didn't get a penalty...it was shoulder on shoulder.

I'm shocked it was Carter, the flyers biggest pussy that laid the hit, but the hit was clean.

If they want to change the rules, then go ahead, but until then, the hit was clean.

I watched NHL Network this morning with Kevin Weekes and I think Dave Reid and they were shocked that this can still go on in the NHL. "A forearm to the head should NEVER be legal!" Good journalistic work there guys. It was neither a forearm nor was it to the head. At least try to learn about some of the shit you talk about.

I am a little shocked the Flyers didn't get a penalty. They've been consistently penalized for way more innocent acts this year

[will.H]

just imagine the barfing going on by NJ/NHL buffs if this happend to a marquee player?

[bigmyc]

Honestly, if the Flyers could just put together a successful Cup Championship run, I wouldn't care about the Eagles ultimate fold routine at all....at least for a few years.

[k]

He didn't have his head up because if he had had his head up he wouldn't have scored. As it was, he barely got the shot off: another split-second of delay and he wouldn't have. It was like a QB standing tall in the pocket and taking a big hit immediately after he makes a throw. Carter's check wasn't dirty but give the Devil his due. He made a nice play because he took the risk.

[Christi Johnson]

seems like a legit hit, just intense