Don Cherry shares controversial take on Reaves/Nurse incident.

There weren't a great many people who made an effort to defend the brutal hit that Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves delivered to Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse over the weekend, and there still aren't, but not everyone is willing to lay one hundred percent of the blame at the feet of the man who delivered the hit.

Since Reaves received a massive suspension from the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety, there have been a few commentators who have come out and said that Nurse should have also done a better job of being aware of his surroundings and a better job of protecting himself. One such commentator is veteran NHL analyst Don Cherry, who on his most recent podcast suggested that during his era of NHL hockey any player who came around the back of the net in the manner Nurse did would have been leveled with a huge hit.

"You know it's a funny thing," began Cherry on his most recent podcast. "Nobody [would] ever come around like that with their head down, because the wingers would leave and as soon as they saw you do that once they'd get you the next time."

Although Cherry's podcast was released after Reaves was suspended on Sunday, it was recorded on Sunday morning and Cherry accurately predicted how many games Reaves would get for his infraction.

"He'll get 5," said Cherry when asked about the pending suspension.

Cherry is of course more of an old-school type of hockey guy but he was far from alone in his line of thinking. Immediately following the hit former NHLer Paul Bissonnette was also critical of how Nurse came around the back of the net and continued to defend his stance on social media over the weekend.

"A tough situation for Reavo," said Bissonnette on Hockey Night in Canada. "It seems like [Nurse] was still facing the corner which you know you're anticipating him to round the net and maybe hit them towards the front, in the crest, and [Nurse] just never really rounds his shoulder so it just leaves his head susceptible.

"It just sucks that he gets him right in the button," added Bissonnette."

Bissonnette released a lengthy 3 minute explanation on the hit following his appearance on Hockey Night in Canada in which he again adamantly argued that Reaves had no ill-intent on the play and instead was a victim of unfortunate circumstances. You can check out that explanation in the short clip below:

Topher Scott over at Hockey Think Tank also felt that more focus should be placed on how Nurse failed to properly defend himself by having his eyes down on the puck the entire time as he came around the back of the net, arguing that it sets a bad example for young hockey players who should be made aware that they need to protect themselves at all times.

"Let’s not tell just one side of the story," argued Scott. "We all want to make the game safer but only saying the onus is on the player hitting is going to have to opposite effect. We need to teach how to hit, and we need to teach how to take a hit and protect ourselves by playing with our eyes up and scanning."

You can read his full breakdown just below:

Do Cherry, Bissonnette, and Scott have a point here? Or do you think all 3 are out to lunch on this one? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.