The NHL’s department of player safety decided on Sunday morning to not suspend Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri for a blindside hit on Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin.
It is a controversial decision that is probably not being very well received in Vancouver not only because of the circumstances around the hit (a blindside hit that resulted in an ejection) but because it was on one of their top players.
Canucks general manager Jim Benning released a brief statement on Sunday expressing the team’s disagreement over the league’s decision.
“We disagree with the ruling this morning and are very disappointed. However, we must accept it and put it behind us so we can focus on tomorrow’s game.”
While it does happen from time to time, it’s not fairly common for a team to comment on a decision like this from the league so it is something that is clearly bothering them.
Kadri was ejected for the hit for charging, but because the league did not view it as a play where the head was the main point of contact he did not receive any further punishment from the league.