As the Pittsburgh Penguins reveal that defenseman Kris Letang will be out indefinitely with a concussion, the NHL tells Yahoo Sports that there will be no supplemental discipline for Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan for the hit that put him out.
Letang left the game with 4:45 left in the second period after taking a shove from Doan away from the puck. He fell against the boards, hitting his head. He was taken to the hospital for observation, and was released on Sunday.
“We have decided not to assess any supplemental discipline to Shane Doan. After reviewing the play carefully and from all angles, we have determined that this was an unfortunate result from a hockey play,” said the NHL in a statement.
“It is not boarding, it is not charging, he doesn't hit him in the head. He finishes his check by shoving Letang and unfortunately, he falls awkwardly. It wasn't really even a violent hit, although resulted in an unfortunate injury.”
Doan was contrite after the game:
"That’s awful. When it happened, I could tell the way he went into the boards was awkward."
"I just went to make sure I got a piece of him so he couldn't jump by me. ... We have to finish our check on him."
"You never ever want to see anybody like that, especially a guy of his caliber and obviously everything he's went through."
Should the hit have warranted a suspension? I didn’t believe so. That’s tough to say when the hitter is someone like Doan, whose sterling reputation as a franchise player and off the ice good dude has always obscured the fact that he frequently “runs around like an idiot,” as Penguins defenseman Ian Cole termed it on Saturday.
But despite the catastrophic result, this one didn’t require a suspension. Tough to hear, considering Letang’s condition, but the right call from the League.
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