The NHL and the powers that be are trying to clean up the game of hockey, this isn’t without reason as more evidence comes out about CTE research. So anytime you see a big hit in the game anymore, it can almost be cringeworthy. When you see a headshot you realize how unnecessary a lot of these hits can be.

Brendan Smith’s hit from this evening is one of those aforementioned unnecessary hits. He met Stefan Matteau at center ice and the meeting was anything but cordial.

As is tradition after hits like this, Brendan Smith had to tussle with whoever was willing. In this case it was Phillip Danault, the fight wasn’t anything to write home about but it shows the archaic nature of the sport. Why do we continue to do this? 

What do you think? Will Brendan Smith get a call from DoPS?