NHL Player Safety and George Parros drop the ball on A.J. Greer suspension
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Florida head coach Paul Maurice is down a winger, but A.J. Greer getting only three games is a complete joke.
The NHL Department of Player Safety released their official ruling Sunday evening following the ugly boarding incident.
Calgary forward Connor Zary was completely defenseless along the half-wall.
Greer stared directly at his numbers for several strides and still chose to drive him violently into the glass.
It was a textbook predatory hit with serious injury potential.
Handing down a mere three-game ban sends the absolute wrong message to the rest of the league.
A History of Slaps on the Wrist for George Parros
George Parros continues to show a terrifying lack of consistency when it comes to protecting the players.
We recently watched Radko Gudas receive a five-game suspension for his reckless, high-impact hit on Toronto superstar Auston Matthews.
Anyone watching that game knew five games was an incredibly light punishment for a repeat offender with a miles-long rap sheet.
The league missed an opportunity to drop the hammer then, and they are repeating the exact same mistake right now.
They look at a highly dangerous sequence involving Zary and decide a three-game vacation is somehow enough justice.
There is absolutely no real deterrence being established by the front office.
If you genuinely want to get blindside boarding out of the game, you have to hit players where it actually hurts.
Giving a depth forward a few nights off does nothing to alter locker room culture or change split-second decision making.
The Panthers will easily manage their lineup without him, but the NHL has completely lost the plot.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 22|299 ANSWERS NHL Player Safety and George Parros drop the ball on A.J. Greer suspension Does the NHL need to hand out longer suspensions for dangerous hits? | ||
| Yes | 292 | 97.7 % |
| No | 7 | 2.3 % |
| List of polls | ||