The Department of Player Safety has announced a two-game suspension for Tampa Bay Lightning Mikhail Sergachev following his hit on Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner last night. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that Marner’s head is the main point of contact on this hit. Sergachev’s shoulder and back make substantial contact with Marner’s jaw, as the head takes the brunt of the force of the check. It is also important to note that the head contact on this play is avoidable. While Marner is bent slightly and being slowed by the hook, he does not change the position of his head or body just prior to, or simultaneous with the check, in a way that significantly contributes to the head being the main point of contact.
If he wants to deliver this hit, Sergachev must stay low and take an angle of approach that hits through Marner’s shoulder and core, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact.
The league admitted that though Sergachev has been fined in the past, they deemed him to have no relevant history. The Tampa Bay defenseman’s fine was for a dangerous cross-check in 2019. Marner also did not suffer a serious injury on the play and did not even leave the game. Marner explained after the game that Sergachev apologized to him in the second period.
Coming off the overtime loss to the Maple Leafs, the Lightning will be without Sergachev for their afternoon tilt tomorrow in Ottawa and Tuesday’s game against the undefeated Carolina Hurricanes.
Maybe the Leafs can explain why he wasn’t immediately sent to the quiet room after that hit. Was the concussion spotter elbows-deep in some tasty arena fries and couldn’t be bothered?
Yeah. The NHL isn’t truly serious about concussions. They still refuse to recognize any relationship between concussions and CTE. They’re afraid of the ramifications from retired suffering ex-players.
They should have called the major,then gotten themselves off the hook due to the Vegas Rule with the video.
MM should have been in the nursery until cleared.
@Mac-best food I ever ate at ACC (lol) was an apple.
@Dave – Usually, you’re trotting out mentions of tastier food than what is in front of me, at the moment. Just like so many teams’ sellout streaks are ending this year, you just broke your own streak! Of course, you could always throw the apple core onto the ice, instead of a pricey replica jersey. :) (I don’t hate apples, but finding specimens that haven’t already been used as practice pucks is kind of hard around here.)
2 minute minor called on the ice & they should have left it at that. There are worse hits than that in front of the net every game that usually aren’t called.