"weaponized by defensemen" - Could this be the end of the reverse hit? NHL GM's weighing options

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Cooper Godin
October 24, 2024 (10:26)

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The Hockey News' Ken Campbell spoke to some NHL General Managers about reverse hits and while it's not a front burner issue, it's something they're monitoring.

Reverse hits in the National Hockey League have become more and more common in recent years and on Monday night, we saw an incident which left Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel in discomfort.

During Monday's game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs, former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson threw a reverse hit on Jake Guentzel. Ekman-Larsson's back made contact with Guentzel's head, with the former Canuck being handed a two-minute minor for interference on the play.

The next day, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety fined Oliver Ekman-Larsson $5,000 USD for interference on Guentzel.

Long-time NHL reporter Ken Campbell recently wrote about the issue of reverse hits in the National Hockey League, saying that he doesn't like them, adding that they've become weaponized by defencemen as the opponent doesn't know what's coming leading to potentially a dangerous situation.

Campbell also said that he spoke with some General Managers in the National Hockey League about reverse hits and they told him that while they are monitoring it and frankly, don't like them, it's not a front burner issue at this time.

"I reached out to a couple of GMs and they said 'you know, it's not a front burner issue right now, but we are monitoring it', they don't like it, I don't like it. They do think it's dangerous and it's something that they'll look at, but not a front burner issue at the moment. But I think the takeaway here is let's at least have the discussion at the NHL level about doing something about these hits because they can be rather dangerous." Campbell said.

Reverse hits are currently legal, but if some NHL General Managers feel that it should be addressed, then it could be a topic of discussion at the next GM meetings. If everyone is in agreeance that reverse hits should be banned, which seems pretty unlikely, it would then go to the NHL/NHLPA Competition Committee for discussion. But it's safe to say for now, reverse hits are here to stay.