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Carolina Hurricanes Rod Brind'Amour defends Jalen Chatfield's actions against Connor McMichael
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Last Wednesday, the Washington Capitals face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes and suffered a 5-1 defeat. However, the game made headlines for different reasons. Hurricanes defenceman Jalen Chatfield dre attention with a brutal takedown of forward Connor McMichael. In the aftermath, head coach Rod Brind'Amour expressed frustration with the ongoing buzz surrounding the incident.
For those who missed the incident, Chatfield swung Connor McMichael over his left leg into the ice after the two squared up in the third period of the Hurricanes' 5-1 win. Neither player had a helmet on when the incident occurred and McMichael appeared to hit his head on the ice.
While fans around the league demanded a suspension for Jalen Chatfield's actions, none was ultimately handed down.
The Washington Capitals are preparing for a rematch against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 10th, and when Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour was aked about the rising tensions between the teams, the question clearly struck a nerve -- prompting a sharp response from the bench boss.
Rod Brind'Amour defends Jalen Chatfield
I asked Rod Brind'Amour if he felt there would be any carryover into Thursday's rematch with Washington after all the drama around Jalen Chatfield: "The media was the one who made drama out of it and they're morons, typically."
"If you're going to say what happened at the end was anything more than what I've seen a thousand times before, you don't know what you're talking about. Go look at the game exactly before. The Boston-Detroit game. Two really good heavyweights going at it and watch how that fight ends. It's a takedown, I'm sorry. Quit making something out of what isn't, because that's not a fair characterization of our player and that's what bothers me on the whole thing. Do your homework."
According to Rod Brind'Amour, Jalen Chatfield has done nothing to merit all the bad press.
Brind'Amour went as far as calling the media "morons" who have idea what they're talking about.
As a head coach, I understand you have to defend your players. But Chatfield's actions towards Connor McMichael appeared egregious, nonetheless dangerous.
Regardless, the April 10th rematch against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals will be one you won't want to miss.
More details to follow.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 7 | 52 ANSWERS Carolina Hurricanes Rod Brind'Amour defends Jalen Chatfield's actions against Connor McMichael Do you think Jalen Chatfield should have been suspended for his takedown of Connor McMichael? | ||
| Yes | 44 | 84.6 % |
| No | 8 | 15.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
