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Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond will miss rest of preseason, Flames’ season opener for illegal hit

Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Jody Shelley

New Jersey Devils’ Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, left, fights with New York Rangers’ Jody Shelley during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 10, 2010, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

AP

As the hockey world ponders the potential penalty for Jody Shelly’s hit on Darryl Boyce, Brendan Shanahan and the NHL have taken action for a different check. The league decided to suspend Calgary Flames enforcer Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond for the remainder of the preseason and one regular season game for an illegal boarding check on Vancouver Canucks’ forward Matt Clackson.

(Scroll to the bottom of this post for video of the hit and Shanahan’s explanation.)

Much like Shelley’s check on Boyce, it was a hit from behind. Both players are also repeat offenders, which often factors into the severity of a suspension. Letourneau-Leblond received a minor penalty for boarding during that contest, while Shelley received a major penalty and was ejected from Wednesday night’s game for his infraction. Letourneau-Leblond’s hit came on Tuesday, which might explain why that decision was announced before Shelley’s situation has been clarified.

Letourneau-Leblond will lose $6,420.44 for missing that game and will be eligible to return against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 10. The suspension covers four preseason games and the Flames’ season opener against the Penguins in Calgary on Oct. 8.

Here is the text version of Shanahan’s explanation for the suspension.

“Letourneau-Leblond took a direct route toward Clackson, hit him squarely from behind into the boards and drove through the check high and hard,” Shanahan said. “Clackson’s back was turned toward Letourneau-Leblond well before the contract, requiring that Letourneau-Leblond avoid or minimize the check completely. He did neither.”

So what do you think of Shanahan’s first decision in Colin Campbell’s old role?