The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has been busy over the past few days figuring out what their recent suspensions are for. New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe because his elbow in the head of Dallas Stars protector Miro Heiskanen. In the end, they decided eight games. Because head trauma needs to be taken seriously.
At the time, it appears that there was no warning from DOPS regarding the head injury to him Ottawa Senators Michael Amadio Saturday night in Vancouver.
In the third period, Amadio was playing the Vancouver net with a six-foot-seven defenseman Vincent Desharnais tried to intercept him on the pass. Amadio had enough space to get past him cleanly until Desharnais reached out and took his lane with a swinging elbow, connecting with Amadio’s head.
Stunned by the blow, Amadio fell to his knees and Desharnais finished him off by driving him toward the board with his hip.
Here is an outline account of the incident.
There isn’t much talk today about the 6-foot-7 Desharnais taking out Sens winger Michael Amadio last night. He swings his arm at Amadio’s head, which is obviously what he made contact with, then finishes Amadio with his hip, face first on the board. @NHLPlayerSafety #IsizweIsizwe pic.twitter.com/PdC6bp0bHu
– Steve Warne (@SteveWarneMedia) December 22, 2024
Here is a video of the game where you can see that the head is clearly the main point of contact. Watch Desharnais’ right hand leave his stick to apply a chicken wing to Amadio’s chin.
Injuries also led to the game. Amadio, who has four points in his last five games, immediately left the game in Vancouver and did not return. He also did not play Sunday in Edmonton due to a head injury. And there’s a good chance he’ll spend more time sitting quietly in the dark this Christmas instead of enjoying time with his wife and child.
This incident seems to check all the boxes for a suspension, but if the NHL’s Department of Player Safety is going to take any action, they should be talking about a hearing by now.
In fact, it would be interesting to see their reaction if, for example, Connor McDavid it was beaten like this.
In fact, the suspension does nothing for the Senators. They are done with the Canucks this season and play in a different conference. But if this incident isn’t worthy of a suspension, at a time when the sports world is more cautious about head injuries, then it would be interesting to hear the NHL’s safety police explain why.
