Keith Ballard is refusing to make a federal case out of the illegal hit he received from Chicago’s Brandon Bollig on Friday -- even though the hit earned Bollig a two-game suspension for boarding and left Ballard injured.
From Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times:
Ballard on Bollig: "I’ve hit guys and they’ve been injured. I don’t think it was overly malicious. It was probably a dumb play."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 13, 2014
Ballard on Bollig's hit: "I don’t think it was a good hit, but I also understand the circumstances. He was trying to generate some energy."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 13, 2014
Ballard is expected to return to Minnesota’s lineup tonight, replacing Nate Prosser on the Wild’s blue line.
As for whether Bollig has reached out via text since the hit, Ballard said too much gets made of that sort of thing.
“I don’t give a [blank],” he said. “I honestly don’t. It’s fine. That’s what happens.”
It’s a good thing Ballard is a professional hockey player and not a sanctimonious sportswriter or crazed internet commenter, because clearly working himself into a frenzy of outrage isn’t a strength.