According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports and TSN’s Darren Dreger, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Douglas Murray has a phone date with the NHL Thursday at 11 a.m. ET.
Murray will face up to a five-game suspension for his elbow to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mike Kostka on Tuesday night. Murray was assessed a match penalty on the play that put Kostka down on the ice for minutes before ultimately skating off with assistance.
Murray has no prior history of running afoul of the law, either with suspensions or fines, and that may be what’s saving him from an in-person hearing.
This season, Murray has averaged 15:30 of ice time and has 27 penalty minutes in 52 games. He’s far from being a goon, but he’s going to have a record after all is said and done.