Milan Lucic will not be suspended for running over Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller on Saturday.
So why did NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan have a hearing?
“I had the hearing because I did make an initial assessment of the play as I do with all plays, but I did have some questions for Milan and I wanted to hear directly from him,” Shanahan told NHL.com. “They were regarding his intent; at what point did he know there was going to be a collision; and whether or not he felt he had the time to avoid the collision. I was satisfied with his answers.”
Lucic has said it wasn’t his plan to run over Miller.
“I blocked a shot and pushed the puck a little too far ahead of me and I skated after the puck as fast as I possibly could,” Lucic said, as per the Boston Herald. “ I looked up and he was still in his net. I looked down at the puck and was continuing on and the next thing I knew, I looked up and he’s coming out full speed at me.”
Not sure if Shanahan expected to get a Colonel Jessep-style confession out of Lucic during the hearing. If I’m a Sabres fan, the league’s dismissal of Lucic’s actions because Lucic said he didn’t mean to might not cut it with me.
I wager we’ll be hearing a few opinions about this decision in the next little while.