Ice Hockey League NHL boss Gary Bettman upheld the suspension of Swedish defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who killed Patrik Lainet last weekend.
According to North American media reports, a hockey player by Rasmus Andersson the suspension received was not reduced from the previous disciplinary punishment. The complaint was processed on Tuesday evening Finnish time by the NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Calgary’s Swedish defender Andersson tackled a Columbus attacker at the turn of last week Patrik Laineta ugly head in the middle area in the last seconds of the match, two goals down.
The NHL ordered Andersson a four-game suspension for the ugly trick, and Andersson will also lose $95,000, i.e. almost 90,000 euros, from his salary. Andersson Earns $4.55 million this season.
However, Andersson, who played Törkyniit, and his club, the Calgary Flames, considered the punishment unreasonable and complained about the suspension. In addition, the NHL players’ union NHLPA, which joined the front of the appellants, was outraged by the Swede’s suspension.
Laine hasn’t played since his layoff, and didn’t participate in the Blue Jackets’ ice practices. Columbus also placed Laine on the injured list.
Coach With Pascal Vincent there was no new news on Monday evening about Laine’s injury, but the pilot only stated about the current situation that “he is still not well”. Columbus next faces Anaheim on Wednesday morning and Montreal on Friday.
Lehkonen: A signal that something like this must not happen again
The length of the four-game suspension given to Andersson was to some extent exceptional, because the Buckeyes were not given suspensions longer than three games in the entire last season.
According to Urheilu’s expert Ismo Lehkonen, the suspension for overshooting – tougher than before – was a clear signal that this kind of thing must not happen again.
Andersson and Calgary wanted to shorten the Swede’s layoff by at least one, to three games, so that the key defenseman would have been able to play in the Oct. 29 outdoor game in Edmonton.
Similar events from last season, which resulted in three-game bans, were probably taken as points of comparison. They were Nicolas Aube-Kubel’s Tackle on Cal Foote and Jamie Oleksia also nailed Aleksandr Alekseev.
Suspensions are rarely complained about in the NHL. Last season, there was not a single request to change the pan. In the second season 2021–22 Sportsnet brought up Jason Spezza incident from December 2021. At that time, Spezza was banned for six games after hitting an opponent in the head with a knee. After the appeal, the streak was shortened to four matches.
In general, Bettman has not reduced the original suspensions due to appeals. Since 2013, in addition to the Spezzan case, the NHL boss has reduced only Dan Carcillon received a 2014 ban from ten to six.