Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Report: No supplemental discipline for Orpik after kneeing Stepan

Dallas Stars v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 11: Brooks Orpik #44 of the Pittsburgh Penguins warms up in a camouflage jersey to honor Veteran’s Day before a game against the Dallas Stars on November 11, 2011 at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Getty Images

According to various sources, Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Oprik won’t face any additional punishment for kneeing New York Rangers forward Derek Stepan in a 5-2 win on Thursday.

The hit in question:

Orpik received a five-minute kneeing major and game misconduct for the hit; Stepan left the contest and didn’t return, missing New York’s practice on Friday.

Today, Newsday’s Steve Zipay reported there was no scheduled hearing for Orpik, followed by Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma saying he hadn’t heard from the league about the hit, and didn’t expect to.

So, why no supplemental discipline?

“GMs had talk about hits like Orpik on Stepan at recent meetings in Fla.,” tweeted Sportsnet’s John Shannon. “Shanahan told them call would be 5 [minute kneeing major] and a game with no supplemental [discipline]. League and Shanahan wanted to know if that was OK going down stretch and in playoffs.

“Without dissent, GMs agreed that it was.”

It should be noted the GM meetings in Florida occurred after Colorado’s Kevin Porter was handed a four-game suspension for kneeing Vancouver’s David Booth on Dec. 6:

That was the first and only kneeing suspension of the season, though Boston’s Adam McQuaid was fined $2,500 for kneeing Ottawa’s Nick Foligno:

That hit occurred just eight days after the Porter-Booth collision.