The NHL’s department of player safety has a new man in charge. And Stephane Quintal had the luxury of waiting until Oct. 27 to dole out 2014-15’s first suspension — the latest into a season that the NHL has handed down a suspension for an on-ice incident since 1983-84.
But once San Jose enforcer John Scott broke the seal, multiple hearings followed in quick succession.
Repeat offenders Scott, Minnesota’s Marco Scandella and Dallas’s Ryan Garbutt each received two suspensions before Christmas. And the new year brought big bans for usual suspects Daniel Carcillo and Zac Rinaldo.
Keep it here for an ongoing rundown of player safety’s 2014-15 supplementary discipline.
NHL’s Department of Player Safety
Total suspensions: 27
Total man-games lost: 81
Total player salary lost: $1,387,995.38
Dustin Byfuglien
Date: April 2
Number of games: 4
Infraction: Cross-checking
Penalized on the play? No
The coach speaks: “Violent, deliberate, could have broken his neck” — Rangers coach Alain Vigneault
Full story: Byfuglien suspended 4 games for ‘violent’ check
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Jared Boll
Date: March 26
Number of games: 3
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? No
Full story: Blue Jackets’ Boll banned for Maroon head shot
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Nazem Kadri
Date: March 18
Number of games: 4
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “I don’t consider myself a dirty player. I felt like my hands were down.” — Kadri
Full story: Kadri delivers concussion, suspended four games
—
Joakim Nordstrom
Date: March 13
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Boarding
Penalized on the play? Yes
The victim speaks: “It was a bad hit, but Nordstrom texted me after the game and he apologized.” — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Full story: Nordstrom gets two-game suspension for boarding
—
Matt Martin
Date: March 4
Number of games: 1
Infraction: Kneeing
Penalized on the play? Yes
The coach speaks: “That’s just a suspension… We’ve already lost our best forward, now we’ve lost probably our best defenceman.” — Stars coach Lindy Ruff
Full story: NHL suspends Islanders’ Matt Martin
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Jared Cowen
Date: Feb. 23
Number of games: 3
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “He came back before I even got out of the box.” — Cowen
Full story: NHL suspends Senators’ Cowen
—
Dmitry Kulikov
Date: Feb. 16
Number of games: 4
Infraction: Clipping
Penalized on the play? Yes
The coach speaks: “It’s a dirty, low play that I don’t like.” — Stars coach Lindy Ruff
Full story: Kulikov suspended for hit on Seguin
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Antoine Roussel
Date: Feb. 12
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Cross-checking
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “I am just trying to protect myself. I didn’t want to fight. I blocked two shots before that with my right hand. My hand was numb, and I didn’t want to fight.” — Roussel
Full story: Roussel suspended two games for cross-check
—
Zac Rinaldo
Date: Jan. 26
Number of games: 8
Infraction: Charging and boarding
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “I changed the whole game, man. Who knows what woulda happened if I didn’t do what I did?” — Rinaldo
Full story: Flyers’ Rinaldo banned eight games for Letang hit
—
Daniel Carcillo
Date: Jan. 19
Number of games: 6
Infraction: Cross checking
Penalized on the play? No
The defence speaks: “I was just trying to knock him off, you know?… I didn’t think it was very, like, malicious or anything.” — Carcillo
Full story: NHL suspends Carcillo six games
—
Brad Marchand
Date: Jan. 16
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Slew footing
Penalized on the play? No
The defence speaks: “It could have been three or four games. It’s definitely on the edge, for sure. It’s a dangerous play.” — Marchand
Full story: Marchand suspended for slew-footing
—
Ryan Suter
Date: Jan. 14
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Elbow to the head
Penalized on the play? No
The defence speaks: “I know that that’s not his intention, that’s not the type of player that he is, and I know that he felt bad about it even during the game.” — Wild coach Mike Yeo
Full story: Wild’s Suter suspended for elbowing Penguins’ Downie
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Keith Aulie
Date: Jan. 1
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? Yes
Full story: Oilers’ Aulie suspended for illegal hit
—
John Scott
Date: Dec. 24
Number of games: 4
Infraction: Punching an unsuspecting opponent
Penalized on the play? No
Coach’s wisdom: “When you hit a guy in the jaw, bad things usually happen.” — Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau
Full story: Sharks’ Scott banned four games for sucker punch
—
Ryan Garbutt
Date: Dec. 11
Number of games: 3
Infraction: Slew-footing
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence rests: “He’s got to stop. He knows he has to change his game… He’s too valuable to the team, we need him on the ice.” — Stars GM Jim Nill
Full story: Stars’ Garbutt suspended three games
—
Marco Scandella
Date: Dec. 10
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “It’s a coincidence, but I’m definitely going to take notes and be a little more careful out there.” — Marco Scandella
Full story: Marco Scandella suspended for hit on Brock Nelson
—
Evander Kane
Date: Dec. 8
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Boarding
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “There’s a penalty for it. It’s an expensive penalty in a 3-2 game. For me that’s the right call, and we move on.” — Jets coach Paul Maurice
Full story: Winnipeg’s Kane suspended for Stoner hit
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Roberto Bortuzzo
Date: Dec. 3
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Interference
Penalized on the play? No
The coach speaks: “If one of our guys had done that to [Sidney] Crosby, there’d be World War IV.” — Devils coach Peter DeBoer
Full story: Bortuzzo suspended for hit on Jagr
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Adam Lowry
Date: Nov. 27
Number of games: 1
Infraction: Boarding
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “If you’ve followed my career, you’ll notice I’m attracted to that sort of stuff.” — Patrick Kaleta
Full story: Lowry suspended one game for Kaleta hit
—
Ryan Garbutt
Date: Nov. 27
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Kneeing
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “I had to scratch and claw to find my way to the NHL, and I’m not going to change the way I play.” — Ryan Garbutt
Full story: Garbutt suspended two games for kneeing
—
Jack Johnson
Date: Nov. 5
Number of games: 3
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “It wasn’t late. I didn’t come up at him. He was watching his pass. Do I agree with the [suspension]? Absolutely not.” — Jack Johnson
Full story: Blue Jackets’ Johnson dealt three-game suspension
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Andrew Ference
Date: Nov. 3
Number of games: 3
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “I got lots of body. I didn’t think I got him [in the head]. I’m a pretty short guy… I’m surprised I got a penalty.” — Andrew Ference
Full story: Oilers captain Ference suspended three games
—
Anton Volchenkov
Date: Nov. 2
Number of games: 4
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? No
The defence speaks: “This game is so fast now, it’s just accidental.” — Anton Volchenkov
Full story: Head hit costs Volchenkov four games
—
Jordan Nolan
Date: Nov. 2
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Boarding
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “His feet were pointed up the ice, and I thought he was close enough to the boards where he wasn’t going to go in awkwardly.” — Jordan Nolan
Full story: Nolan suspended two games for hit on Helm
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Alex Burrows
Date: Oct. 31
Number of games: 3
Infraction: Late, illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? No
The defence speaks: “Hockey’s a fast game, and those things are going to happen.” — Canucks GM Jim Benning
Full story: Burrows suspended three games for hit on Emelin
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John Moore
Date: Oct. 29
Number of games: 5
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “From behind the bench, I just thought he was back-checking hard.” — Rangers coach Alain Vigneault
Full story: Rangers’ Moore suspended for Haula headshot
—
John Scott
Date: Oct. 27
Number of games: 2
Infraction: Leaving the bench on a legal line change to start an altercation
Penalized on the play? Yes
The defence speaks: “Obviously I don’t condone me going after [Phil] Kessel, but those were different situations.” — John Scott
Full story: Scott suspended two games for role in brawl
Only Worth a Fine
Andrew Shaw
Date: April 10
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Scott Gomez
Date: April 4
The damage: $1,478.49
Infraction: Elbowing
Tanner Glass
Date: March 28
The damage: $3,897.85
Infraction: Butt-ending
Tom Wilson
Date: March 27
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Craig Smith
Date: March 22
The damage: $5,000
Infraction: High sticking
P.K. Subban
Date: March 20
The damage: $3,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Richard Panik
Date: March 5
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Cody McLeod
Date: March 3
The damage: $3,091.40
Infraction: Entering the game on a legal line change for the purpose of starting an altercation
Gabriel Landeskog
Date: March 3
The damage: $5,000
Infraction: Throwing a punch at Minnesota forward Mikko Koivu while both players were on their respective benches
Logan Couture
Date: Feb. 27
The damage: $5,000
Infraction: Slew-footing
Michal Neuvirth
Date: Feb. 25
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
P.K. Subban
Date: Feb. 4
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Cal Clutterbuck
Date: Jan. 28
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Sami Vatanen
Date: Jan. 15
The damage: $3,393.82
Infraction: Elbowing
Gustav Nyquist
Date: Jan. 7
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Vincent Trocheck
Date: Jan. 7
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Jannik Hansen
Date: Dec. 31
The damage: $5,000
Infraction: Illegal check to the head
James Neal
Date: Dec. 17
The damage: $2,000
Infraction: Diving/embellishment
Anders Lee
Date: Dec. 9
The damage: $2,286.29
Infraction: Elbowing
Milan Lucic
Date: Oct. 17
The damage: $5,000
Infraction: Making an obscene gesture
Antoine Roussel
Date: Nov. 10
The damage: $5,376.34
Infraction: Punching an unsuspecting Justin Braun
Alexei Emelin
Date: Nov. 29
The damage: $11,021.51
Infraction: Illegal check to the head of Brian Gionta
Marco Scandella
Date: Dec. 1
The damage: $2,755.38
Infraction: Illegal check to the head of T.J. Oshie
CBA Suspensions (Non Player Safety Department)
Carter Ashton
Date: Nov. 6
Number of games: 20
Salary lost: $169,185
Infraction: Violating league’s performance enhancing substances program
The defence speaks: “I suffered an asthmatic spasm in late August while in a training session getting prepared for the 2014-15 NHL season. One of the other athletes I was training with gave me an inhaler in order to help open my airway, which provided me with immediate relief from my asthma attack.” — Carter Ashton
Full story: Leafs’ Ashton suspended 20 games
Slava Voynov
Date: Oct. 20
Number of games: Indefinite
Salary lost: None
Infraction: “Off-ice conduct.” Arrested on domestic abuse charges
The defence speaks: “Slava never hit [his girlfriend]…. She was injured, but it’s not a result of Slava punching her or anything remotely like that.” — Craig Renetzky, Voynov’s agent
Full story: NHL passes first new domestic violence test
