Overwhelming reaction from Canes’ fans
It’s clear to see that Giordano partially launched himself and intentionally put an elbow to the head/neck area of Aho while he was cutting across the ice. But, Aho did have his head up on the play. He probably was not expecting Giordano to lunge forward like he did.
Giordano is a hard-hitter and tough defender. However, he does not have a hit quite like this one in his repertoire during his more than a decade long NHL career. Injury causing hits against Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri are not the cleanest hits you can watch either. Neither is as harmful as this hit, though.
Some of the notorious fan Twitter pages for the Canes were hopeful as to a quick recovery for Aho, especially since the team has a five-day break, before facing the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 20. Here’s some initial reactions from Canes fans on Twitter.
Best outcome w can hope for out of this game: A healthy Sebastian Aho is on the ice next Sunday vs VGK
— Section 328 (@Section_328) January 14, 2018
Calgary fans seemingly felt different about the intent of the hit, and whether Giordano deserves a suspension. It’s nice to see Calgary fans showing some love to the recovery of Aho, as he deals with multiple injuries with no timeline to return yet.
That was a complete clean hit that was not called a penalty until assessing the damage. Garbage call. If there's no crime you don't call for harm. Giordano wasn't targeting the head whatsoever, Aho moved his head into it.
— Matchsticks & Gasoline (@MatchsticksCGY) January 14, 2018
Any calls for a Giordano suspension = much ado about nothing. That was a devastating but clean hit, right on the crest of Aho’s jersey. Unfortunate that it hurt him, but completely legal hit.
— Matt Larkin (@MLarkinHockey) January 16, 2018
As a whole, what’s done is done, and the Canes need to turn attention to the rest of the January slate on tap. Losing Aho hurts a ton, but injuries are still a part of the game and something teams have to deal with.
Next: Five players the Carolina Hurricanes should trade for before Deadline
We can just hope nothing else takes down a player the quality of Aho for the rest of the season. He’s an invaluable part of the Carolina first line, along with co-captain Jordan Staal and fellow skilled Finnish winger Teuvo Teravainen. Head coach Bill Peters needs to find a way to plug the hole left by Aho for the time being.