After the Boston Bruins’ shootout win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night, it was expected that Max Talbot would hear from the NHL for his interference on forward Jiri Tlusty. But with the Devils winger remaining in the game – and given Talbot’s clean rap sheet – the common thought was that it would be a fine, rather than a suspension.
But then the NHL announced there would be a Department of Player Safety hearing, which usually means something more than a fine. And on Monday night it announced that Talbot had been suspended two games for the hit.
The incident occurred at 14:30 of the second period. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Talbot will forfeit $19,354.84. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Talbot’s hit was called significantly late and “predatory,” with the NHL saying that contact should be “avoided completely” in that situation.
Said Tlusty after the game, to Fire & Ice:
“I was trying to curl back and kind of see where the puck goes and what Trav was going to do with it and then I got hit,” he said. “So, I didn't really see it coming and I don't know if it was clean or not. I don't think it was.”
“There's a little symptoms, but I'm fine,” he said. “I was able to stay in the game and that's important. Hopefully, I'll react well for tomorrow and I will feel much better tomorrow.”
(Um, this is not exactly encouraging use of the NHL’s concussion protocol. But that might be the player’s fault.)
Two games for a play with no injury, for a player with no history, would seem like one too many But Talbot’s hit was egregiously late, and the NHL did what it frequently does in its Dept. of Player Safety: hand out punishment where the on-ice officials failed to do so.
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