Erik Gudbranson to have Hearing with Player Safety
What a mess this whole thing turned out to be. Erik Gudbranson of the Columbus Blue Jackets will have a hearing today with the NHL's Department of Player Safety after jumping Nick Cousins of the Florida Panthers.
Gudbranson was hot after a taking a hit from behind into the boards from Cousins earlier in the game that did not receive a penalty.
Gudbranson decided to take matters into his own hands later in the game. He went straight after Cousins on the ice, dragging him down and landing punch after punch while Cousins tried to protect himself. gudbranson received a game misconduct for his actions.
Player Safety has announced a hearing for Gudbranson today under the not-often-used rule 46.2.
"The aggressor in an altercation shall be the player who continues to throw punches in an attempt to inflict punishment on his opponent who is in a defenseless position or who is an unwilling combatant.
A player must be deemed the aggressor when he has clearly won the fight but he continues throwing and landing punches in a further attempt to inflict punishment and/or injury on his opponent who is no longer in a position to defend himself."
A player must be deemed the aggressor when he has clearly won the fight but he continues throwing and landing punches in a further attempt to inflict punishment and/or injury on his opponent who is no longer in a position to defend himself."
What Cousins did likely deserved a penalty. That doesn't make it ok for Gudbranson to jump him and start swinging. I can easily see at least a couple of games for Gudbranson following this hearing, if not more.
| POLL | ||
Should Gudbranson be suspended in this case? | ||
| Yes | 217 | 35.9 % |
| No | 350 | 57.9 % |
| Not sure | 38 | 6.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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