We’re keeping a running list of suspensions handed out around the league over the course of the 2019-20 campaign, with the most recent cases at the top.
Evander Kane, LW, San Jose Sharks
Duration of suspension: Three games
Infraction: Elbowing Winnipeg’s Neal Pionk (Feb. 14)
Eligible to return: Feb. 22 vs. Rangers
Repeat offender? Yes. This is Kane’s second suspension this season, having served a three-game suspension to start 2019-20 for an “abuse of official” infraction late in pre-season. Kane was also forced to sit out Game 2 of the Sharks’ second-round playoff series against Vegas in April 2018 after cross-checking forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. He was also suspended two games in December 2014 for boarding then-Ducks defenceman Clayton Stoner.
Of note: Kane was critical of the NHL Department of Player Safety following the ruling against Pionk, calling the system “flawed” and pointing to two recent incidents not deemed suspension-worthy by the department: Zdeno Chara’s cross-check on Brendan Gallagher, and a recent hit by Lawson Crouse to Charlie McAvoy.
Zack Kassian, RW, Edmonton Oilers
Duration of suspension: Seven games
Infraction: Kicking Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak (Feb. 13)
Eligible to return: Feb. 29 vs. Jets
Repeat offender? Yes. This is Kassian’s second suspension this season, having sat out two games in January for an altercation with Matthew Tkachuk. He was also suspeded twice in 2013-14 while with the Vancouver Canucks — eight games for high-sticking against Sam Ganger, and three games for boarding Brenden Dillon.
Of note: Kassian was offered an in-person hearing, but turned it down.
Jeremy Lauzon, D, Boston Bruins
Duration of suspension: Two games
Infraction: Illegal check to the head against Arizona’s Derek Stepan (Feb. 8)
Eligible to return: Feb. 15 vs. Red Wings
Repeat offender? No
Zack Kassian, RW, Edmonton Oilers
Duration of suspension: Two games
Infraction: Altercation with Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk, in which Kassian was ruled as the aggressor under rule 46.2 (Jan. 11)
Eligible to return: Jan. 29 vs. Flames
Repeat offender? Yes. Kassian was suspended twice in 2013-14 while with the Vancouver Canucks — eight games for high-sticking against Sam Ganger, and three games for boarding Brenden Dillon.
Of note: Kassian’s fight with Tkachuk was in retaliation for a pair of questionable hits by Tkachuk on Kassian that went unpenalized.
It also sparked a fiery rematch between the two on Jan. 29, upon Kassian’s return:
Corey Perry, RW, Dallas Stars
Duration of suspension: Five games
Infraction: Elbowing Nashville’s Ryan Ellis (Jan. 1)
Eligible to return: Jan. 16 vs. Sabres
Repeat offender? Yes. He was issued a four-game suspension for an illegal hit to Jason Sucker in 2012-13. His first suspension was in 2008-09, when he sat out four games for elbowing Claude Giroux.
Kurtis MacDermid, D, Los Angeles Kings
Duration of suspension: Two games
Infraction: Illegal Check to the Head against Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov (Dec. 31)
Eligible to return: Jan. 8 vs. Stars
Repeat offender? No
Joel Farabee, RW, Philadelphia Flyers
Duration of suspension: Three games
Infraction: Interference against Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault (Dec. 15)
Eligible to return: Dec. 23 vs. Rangers
Repeat offender? No (he’s a rookie)
Of note:
Erik Cernak, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
Duration of suspension: Two games
Infraction: Elbowing Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin (Nov. 25)
Eligible to return: Nov. 30 vs. Hurricanes
Repeat offender? No
Alexander Kerfoot, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
Duration of suspension: Two games
Infraction: Boarding Colorado’s Erik Johnson (Nov. 23)
Eligible to return: Nov. 30 vs. Sabres
Repeat offender? No
Robert Bortuzzo, D, St. Louis Blues
Duration of suspension: Four games
Infraction: Cross-checking Predators winger Viktor Arvidsson (Nov. 23)
Salary forfeited: $67,073.16
Eligible to return: Dec. 2 @ Blackhawks
Repeat offender? Yes. Bortuzzo missed two pre-season games and the Blues’ 2018-19 season opener after elbowing Washington’s Michal Kempny, and was twice fined for cross-checking incidents in 2017-18. His first suspension came in 2014 after interfering with Jaromir Jagr.
Of note: Arvidsson suffered a lower-body injury as a result of the cross-check, and will miss four to six weeks.
Garnet Hathaway, RW, Washington Capitals
Duration of suspension: Three games
Infraction: Spitting on Ducks defenceman Erik Gudbranson (Nov. 18)
Salary forfeited: $24,194
Eligible to return: Nov. 29 vs. Lightning
Repeat offender? No.
Of note: Both players involved in the incident spoke about it afterwards. Here’s what they had to say:
Erik Gudbranson wasn’t a fan of being spit on
Do you think Garnet Hathaway deserves to be suspended for spitting on Gudbranson? If so, how long? pic.twitter.com/HDMkximxsV
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 19, 2019
Nick Foligno, LW, Columbus Blue Jackets
Duration of suspension: three games
Infraction: Elbowing against Colorado’s Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (Nov. 9)
Eligible to return: Nov. 21 vs. Red Wings
Repeat offender? No. The NHL’s department of player safety noted in their video explaining the suspension that Foligno has no relevant history, having only ever received one fine over the course of his career.
Of note: Foligno told reporters after the game that his hit on Bellemare was not intentional.
“There was no intent to hit him like that at all,” he said. “I felt sick to my stomach when I saw that I hit him in the head.”
Milan Lucic, LW, Calgary Flames
Duration of suspension: two games
Infraction: Roughing against Blue Jackets rookie Kole Sherwood (Nov. 2)
Eligible to return: Nov. 7 vs. Devils
Repeat offender? Yes. Lucic has twice earned one-game suspensions (Dec. 2011, Jan. 2016) and has also been fined several times.
Of note: Flames GM Brad Treliving said he “vehemently” disagrees with the suspension:
“I don’t think it falls to the level where Milan is sitting out for the next two games,” Treliving said Sunday. “We support our player 100 per cent. We want our players to support each other, back each other up and we felt that’s what Milan was doing in this case.”
Adam Lowry, C, Winnipeg Jets
Duration of suspension: two games
Infraction: Boarding against Flames defenceman Oliver Kylington (Oct. 26)
Salary forfeited: $71,138.22
Eligible to return: Nov. 2 @ Golden Knights
Repeat offender? Yes. Lowry was suspended two games in March 2019 for high-sticking Predators forward Filip Forsberg. He was also handed a one-game suspension as rookie for boarding then-Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta in November 2014.
Read full story
Valentin Zykov, LW, Vegas Golden Knights
Duration of suspension: 20 games
Infraction: Violation of NHL’s performance-enhancing substances program (Oct. 17)
Eligible to return: Nov. 29 vs. Coyotes
Repeat offender? No.
Read full story
Evander Kane, LW, San Jose Sharks
Duration of suspension: three games
Infraction: Abuse of official vs. Golden Knights (Sept. 29, pre-season)
Salary forfeited: $112,000
Eligible to return: Oct. 8 @ Predators
Repeat offender? Yes. Kane was forced to sit out Game 2 of the Sharks’ second-round playoff series against Vegas in April 2018 after cross-checking forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare earned him a one-game suspension. He was also suspended two games in December 2014 for boarding then-Ducks defenceman Clayton Stoner.
Of note: The timing of Kane’s suspension keeps him out of the lineup for the Sharks’ home-and-home against arch-rival Vegas to start the season, so we’ll have to wait a little longer before our next dose of the great Kane-Reaves rivalry.
Read full story
[relatedlinks]