Player Safety Hits Brendan Smith with Multi-game Suspension for Retaliatory Slash
The NHL's Department of Player Safety has made its ruling in the case of a pretty brutal slash to the Philadelphia Flyers' Travis Konecny by Brendan Smith of the New Jersey Devils.
After a puck dump on the penalty kill by Philadelphia late in the third period, both teams headed for a live change. Along the way, Konecny wasn't happy over something, and crosschecked Smith with some force. Smith grabs his own stick in both hands and swings it at Konecny hard, hitting him in the chest. DoPS has ruled the slash warranted a suspension for two games.
In making its decision, DoPS said "this was not a hockey play" and that Smith was in full control of his stick and his actions at the time. It also noted that Konecny's actions earned him a fine, but that in no way excuses the reaction from Smith. To his credit, Smith has very little in the way of previous history, with his only other suspension coming in 2011.
| POLL | ||
What do you think of Player Safety's decision? | ||
| Got it right | 85 | 34.8 % |
| Should have been one game | 41 | 16.8 % |
| Should have been more than 2 | 64 | 26.2 % |
| Shouldn't have been suspended | 54 | 22.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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