That second angle of the Panarin take down makes a bad move look worse. He is beyond lucky that Panarin managed to turn just enough that his shoulder hit the ice first and saved his head from the full impact on the ice. Seemingly lost is all the crap he did, was that he had his stick under the throat of Buchnevich and pulled up. I'd feel confident if Shanahan was in charge that they'd tell him to come back for training camp. I will be very surprised if Parros gives him any more than the rest of the regular season.
Laviolette also shouldn't be overlooked in this. It's one thing to back your players, but his "nothing to see here" is beyond over the top. The fact he put him back on the ice in a 5-3 game to get an empty netter and then AGAIN for the final minute so he's on the ice at the buzzer speaks volumes about how he views his actions. Zero reason to put him back on the ice in a 6-3 game skating 5 on 5 unless you're looking for trouble. Just like a baseball manager getting tossed in beanball wars, Laviolette should be put on notice that if he can't control his player he can join him on the sidelines.
As a contrarian, I went into that video with an itch to defend the play. A lot of replays that people get up in arms about are a lot closer to 50-50, but fan goggles skew the view.
There is no defense of that play. Even if he was just trying to grab Jersey and not Panarin's hair, the intent was clear. He was trying to bounce the back of Panarins head off the fucking ice. And when Panarin spun mid-fall, he was really, really close to having the top of his head drove into the ice DDT-style.
That entire incident, literally until the last fraction of a second when Panarin was able to complete his spin and change the angle of his head, was "worst case scenario". And Wilson wasnt aiming for something else. The entire time, he was helping the process along.
When does the league stop this? Do we need to wait until he Donald Brashears someone? The man almost paralyzed one of the best scorers in the league. Is that good enough?
Guys like Wilson and Matt Cooke are cut from the same clothe. If the league doesnt remove him from the ice for a LONG time, I genuinely, honestly hope he suffers a horrific career ending injury.
Hes ruining careers and, with the concussions, lives. Hes going to get someone fucking killed.