In the closing moments of the teams’ Saturday match, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly cross-checked Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig, earning him a five-game suspension.
Less than twenty-four hours after the league’s department of player safety issued its decision, the NHL Players’ Association declared on Wednesday that it would be launching an appeal on Rielly’s behalf.
Due to the weather in New York on Tuesday, the hearing was done remotely instead of in person, giving the league the authority to punish Rielly for a minimum of six games. Commissioner Gary Bettman is the sole person to whom an appeal may be made because the suspension is below that threshold.
Greig’s slap shot into an empty net with 5.1 seconds remaining on Saturday night to make it 5-3 Senators in favor of the opposition infuriated Rielly. Although he gave Greig a cross-check to the head and left shoulder, the 21-year-old, who was playing in his first full professional season, was unharmed.
The league clarified the suspension in a video, saying, “This is not a hockey play.” “This is a well-planned, violent blow to the head of an opponent with a stick, used to exact revenge long after a goal has been scored.”
Rielly, who has no prior record of fines or suspensions throughout his 11-year NHL career, would forfeit $195,313 in pay due to the ban.
The Maple Leafs, who are fighting for a postseason berth in the Eastern Conference, have suffered a serious blow in losing Rielly, one of their All-Stars and most useful players this season, for this extended period of time. For Toronto, the 29-year-old skates for more than 24 minutes every game, and his contributions in every way include.
