Bruins fans react to Marchand's appeal results: Not to anyone's surprise, fans are upset
DFO's Frank Seravalli reported on Friday that Gary Bettman has decided to uphold Brad Marchand's 6-game suspension for roughing/high-sticking Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry during the last minute of the Bruins/Pens game back on February 8th.
Fans are understandably, but unsurprisingly not happy.
Two games for the punch.. okay. Two games for the high-stick.. I mean.. was there really intent to injure there? Two games just for having a history??Honestly, the way the NHL handles player safety makes most decisions seem arbitrary and without merit; this one is no exception.
Although I agree that Marchand should've been suspended for his in-game antics, the trouble I have with this particular suspension is that Jarry wasn't hurt as a result of Marchand's actions. Were they uncalled for? Yes. Was it necessary? No. but Jarry was not injured.
Where do Gary Bettman and player safety look to determine the precedent? Suppose you're going to add games for prior history. Why wasn't Capitals' Tom Wilson suspended on history alone for trying to end Artemi Panarin's career?
What about Marchand's play was inherently suspendable? For reference, Wilson was fined $5,000 for his cheap shot on a downed Pavel Buchnevich, not for his actions against Panarin.
If the NHL had given Marchand 4 games, 2 for roughing and 2 for high-sticking, I would've been behind it 100 percent. Every ruling is inconsistent, and it appears that the NHL doesn't take player safety seriously. In my book, they lose credibility every time they make a player safety decision.
There is no reason or logic used when NHL player safety or Gary Bettman make these decisions, and that part is infuriating, arbitrary and dismissive.
