A little something to stick in your back pocket – NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan is on the record that a one-game suspension in the playoffs is more significant than a one-game suspension in the regular season.
In fact, according to Shanahan, it’s a LOT more significant.
“I can attest to this as a player, if you ask me if I’d rather have a four-game suspension in November than a one-game suspension in the playoffs, I’d take the four-game suspension in November,” Shanahan told ESPN’s Craig Custance. “If you think about it, that one game in the finals is the equivalent of a 12-game suspension. … I don’t feel we’re in the punishment business, we’re in the changing player behavior business. You do that by getting a player’s attention.”
So by Shanahan’s math, Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome was suspended 48 regular-season games for his late hit on Boston’s Nathan Horton in last year’s finals.