This week has provided two late candidates for the biggest clean hockey hit you’ll see this NHL season. The first was provided by Dustin Byfuglien and then, on Friday night, Tom Wilson submitted a massive hit of his own.
Avalanche forward Nikita Zadorov was the unfortunate recipient of Wilson’s huge hit behind the Avs net. Wilson caught the Colorado winger with his head down and dropped him like a sack of bricks. That’s not an easy task considering Zadorov is a big guy at 6’5, 221 lbs., but Wilson absolutely crushed him.
The hit will get reviewed by the Department of Player Safety but, from the looks of it, Wilson managed to stay on his feet as he delivered the hit, only coming off the ice as after contact. He also kept the elbow tucked and the principle point of contact appeared to be shoulder-on-shoulder. If there was any contact with Zadorov’s head, it’s hard to argue that there was any targeting involved.
As for Zadorov, he was clearly shaken up from the violent collision — appearing to be in a daze as he laid stiff on the ice for a few moments — but managed to get up on his own and was escorted off the ice by a trainer. He didn’t return to the game.
UPDATE: Nikita Zadorov has suffered a head injury and will not return.
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 2, 2016
