NHL Playoffs 2012: Henrik Zetterberg Thought Hit By Shea Weber Was Dirty

Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber received a meager fine Thursday for an unsuccessful sucker punch and grabbing Henrik Zetterberg's head and throwing it into the boards. Given all the concerns with head injuries in sports today, he probably should have been punished more severely, but alas, he was not.

Thankfully, Zetterberg was not hurt, despite his helmet being cracked, and he will be fine for Game 2 on Friday night. Zetterberg won't speak to whether or not Weber should have been suspended, but he made it abundantly clear that what Weber did was bush-league:

"I thought it was dirty,'' Zetterberg said. "I think it was directed toward my head and if you look at what’s happened over the last few years with all of the head injuries I think that should not belong in the game." [...]

When he saw it on tape Weber grabbing the back of head and driving it into the glass, Zetterberg said, "I thought it looked bad, but I guess it wasn’t bad enough."

Former Red Wing and now NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan suggested that Zetterberg's health was a factor in deciding whether or not to come down with a stiffer penalty.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

NHL Playoffs 2012: Predators' Shea Weber Fined $2,500 For Henrik Zetterberg Hit, No Suspension

It looks like Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators will have to pay for his actions on Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings. Weber has been fined by the NHL $2,500 for grabbing Detroit forward Henrik Zetterberg and slamming his head into the glass. The $2,500 is the maximum allowed as per the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement, but at the same time, it does seem a little low given the fact that intent is unquestionable here.

Rather, the lack of a suspension of any sort is the curious part. A total of 46 games were missed due to players suspended during the regular season and preseason for "illegal hits to the head." That's not including 71 games missed for things like boarding, charging and checking from behind - which can often result in hitting one's head. Another note: it also doesn't include multiple games missed due to players suspended for head-butting.

Then you have the fact that the hit to the head fines are much lower than, say, fines you can get for questioning the NHL, yelling at officials or being "insensitive." At any rate, Weber has been fined and Zetterberg is likely good-to-go for game two, so in the end, minimal harm was actually done.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

NHL Playoffs 2012: Shea Weber's Hit On Henrik Zetterberg Draws Reactions From Around NHL

Even if the Detroit Red Wings remained mum on Shea Weber's double face-smash on Henrik Zetterberg, the incident received plenty of media attention.

As you likely saw, at the end of Game 1 of the Wings' opening-round series with the Nashville Predators, Weber grabber Zetterberg by the back of the head and smashed the Detroit forward's head into the glass.

Here is video of the incident:

In gif form, it looked like this:

The Internet was aflutter with reaction. Among the outlets to chime in were Deadspin, with a post titled, "Shea Weber Celebrated Winning Game One Of The Stanley Cup Playoffs By Assaulting Henrik Zetterberg." The website Guyismproduced a round-up of Weber-related tweets, including one which read, "The Saints just sent Shea Weber a check for $1,000."

Fox News in Detroit ran a piece about whether or not Weber should be suspended. Other outlets to ask about suspension were the Globe and Mail and The Star (Toronto), while The Tennessean said the hit was proof this will be a brutal series.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page, or check out SB Nation's YouTube channel:

VIDEO: Shea Weber Goes All WWE On Henrik Zetterberg