NHL continues to make up the rules as they go, erase mandatory suspension
The NHL has a history of deciding when to enforce a rule and when not to. A perfect example was last year in the playoffs Edmonton Oilers defender Darnell Nurse received a mandatory one game suspension for receiving an instigator penalty in the final five minutes. The league decides to uphold this suspension despite the Oilers appeal.
Last night Brady Tkachuk instigated a fight in the final 5 minutes against Alex Tuch. With that penalty comes the automatic one game suspension and a $10,000 fine for DJ Smith. The rule is clearly defined by rule 46.21:
Per NHL rule 46.21, Brady Tkachuk is set to be suspended for 1 game for receiving an instigator penalty in the last 5 minutes of regulation, while Head Coach DJ Smith would receive a $10,000 fine.
After the game reports surfaced that Tkachuk and Smith both intended to appeal their punishments. While many expected this to be upheld it now appears the NHL has decided to once again make exceptions to their own rules.
Sources say the NHL's department of player safety has informed the #Sens there won't be a one game suspension for Brady Tkachuk and coach D.J. Smith won't be fined for the incident late in against Buffalo. It will be up to the officials to decide if the instigator is erased.
This continues to show the NHL picks and chooses when to enforce the rules. While neither Nurse or Tkachuk should have faced suspension, the inconsistency continues to highlight the NHL model.
| POLL | ||
Should Brady Tkachuk have been suspended? | ||
| Yes, it's in the rules | 59 | 64.8 % |
| No, it's a dumb rule | 21 | 23.1 % |
| Just be consistent | 11 | 12.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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