The NHL’s department of player safety has had a busy week, and it is not slowing down.
After issuing suspensions for Andrew Shaw (the remainder of the preseason) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (one regular season game), they could be handing out another in the coming days.
The DoPS announced on Monday evening that Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Pearson will have a hearing (time and date still to be determined) for an illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Brandon Davidson on Saturday night.
It happened midway through the second period when Davidson attempted to make a play on the puck in the neutral zone only to have Pearson come in and catch him with a high hit.
Here is a look at the play.
Pearson was ejected for the hit. He has never been suspended in his NHL career and has a relatively clean track record as a player. In 146 NHL games he has only been assessed 40 penalty minutes, including only 18 in 79 games a year ago.