Cody McLeod is one of those players in the NHL who walks a very thin line between playing a physical game and playing a reckless game. Unfortunately, he crossed over that line when his Nashville Predators hosted the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night.

Marko Dano and McLeod were competing for the puck near Nashville’s bench when Dano was able to maneuver past into Nashville’s zone. McLeod did his best to catch up, but had to lunge forward to try and slow the speedy Nano.

That led to this rather ugly hit in which McLeod slammed Dano’s head into the glass.

The hit is a pretty bad one as almost all of McLeod’s contact is to the back of Dano’s head. Unlike many other controversial hits in the NHL, Dano wasn’t in a vulnerable position and didn’t personally place himself in harm’s way. Instead, McLeod’s lack of speed resulted in him trying to compensate and that meant a hit to the back of Dano’s head which pushed the Jets forward violently into the glass.

McLeod picked up a roughing penalty for his efforts while Dano headed off the ice for a quick evaluation. As bad as the hit was, it’s nice to see Dano head to the back under his own power.

About David Rogers

Editor for The Comeback and Contributing Editor for Awful Announcing. Lover of hockey, soccer and all things pop culture.