The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has announced that both Vancouver Canucks’ Tyler Myers and Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid will have hearings in the near future. Both were assessed match penalties at the end of Saturday’s game for delivering cross-checks to an opponent’s head. At the moment, no date and time has been set for the hearings, with both players being automatically suspended until NHL commissioner Gary Bettman rules on what supplemental discipline, if any, will be added to the initial infraction.
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As per the NHL rule book, “A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or deliberately injures an opponent in any manner.” Myers was assessed his match penalty after cross-checking Evan Bouchard, while McDavid received his after cross-checking Conor Garland. Both incidents happened at the 19:57 mark of the third period during Vancouver’s 3-2 victory over Edmonton.
This season, there has been one suspension and three fines for cross-checking. The only suspension was given to New Jersey Devil’s Timo Meir, who received one game. Both McDavid and Myers’ hearings will be via phone, meaning a similar suspension length is possible.
How the NHL handles these suspensions will be interesting, as the Canucks and Oilers have a rematch scheduled for Thursday night. Both teams also play on Tuesday, with Vancouver taking on the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton facing off against the Washington Capitals. Regardless of how long each suspension is, Thursday night is shaping up to be must-watch for both fans and possibly the NHL.
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