Ottawa Senators forward Austin Watson will not face supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety for a hit to the head area he made on New York Rangers forward Tyler Motte last night, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
The hit, which led to Watson receiving a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct, came in the first period of last night’s game. Watson appeared to hit Motte, who was his teammate just a few weeks ago, in the head area with a rising check, one that seemed to include an elbow making contact with Motte’s upper body.
A replay review by officials showed that Watson’s primary point of contact was with Motte’s chin, which is what led to Watson being ejected from the game. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports that the Department of Player Safety determined that the hit “didn’t rise to Illegal Check to the Head,” that it was more of a “North/south hit through the body with unavoidable head contact.”
Motte did not return to the eventual Senators victory, and worth noting is the fact that Motte was knocked out for some time last season with an upper-body injury. He could miss some time now with the upper-body injury he suffered due to the hit, although no firm timeline has yet been released.
Motte, 27, was recently acquired from the Senators and has played six games for the Rangers this year.
Should he miss extended time, the Rangers will be pressed into an even more precarious situation, having already been forced to play with eleven forwards and five defensemen for cap-related reasons.
For the Senators, Watson escaping punishment from the NHL for this hit could help them as they look to make a push for a playoff spot. Watson was suspended last year for a high hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Jack Ahcan, meaning were he going to face discipline again he would be considered a repeat offender.
Now, though, despite the apparent severity of Watson’s hit on Motte, Watson will be able to remain in the Senators’ lineup for their Saturday game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It appears that the league has decided that the five-minute-major and match penalty is sufficient punishment for Watson, which is not fully out of line with some of their past decisions.
For the Rangers, this decision could come as another point of anger for the team against the NHL Department of Player Safety, especially with their own player, K’Andre Miller, currently serving a suspension.
It was just two years ago that the Rangers’ officially and publicly called for the firing of former NHL enforcer George Parros, the current head of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. In a statement, they called him “unfit to continue in his current role” and his choice to not suspend Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson “a dereliction of duty” that seemed to permit what they called a “horrifying act of violence.”
While today’s choice to not levy additional punishment on Watson won’t to draw the same level of ire from the Rangers and the New York market, they’re unlikely to be thrilled to see Watson walk away unscathed while one of their players faces a possible extended absence.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Obviously spitting at someone is disgusting, but in the end it doesn’t actually harm anyone: 3 games (1 should have been enough IMO).
A known goon with a suspension history headhunts and probably concusses a guy with an elbow and followthrough to the face, but gets nothing.
thanks ParrOS
NHL – “No Hockey Laws”
Parros should be ashamed of himself & the rest of the league.
I certainly hope Larry Brooks is wrong but unfortunately he probably is not.
The players association needs to do a better job of protecting PLAYERS !!!
This a a joke.
The usual NHL effing the Rangers. Had the shoe been on the other foot and Motte had hit Watson, he’d be looking at a 5-game suspension. But when it’s the Rangers on the receiving end, as usual the DPS looks the other way and yawns. It must be in some hidden part of the by-laws that nobody gets to see.
Bassman
I get the conspiracy factor, but it actually behooves the NHL-DPS to lean in the other direction since there is a much lucrative outcome to come from that.
I just don’t get it. I really don’t.
Check out this
link to nhl.com
I sent this to EJ Radek to see what he thinks of Parros’ decision considering he did the interview
Par for the course when it comes to questionable hits against Rangers players. DPS for whatever reason always has it out for the Rangers (to the point where I was surprised Trouba never got hit with anything last postseason with his admittedly questionable hits).
The argument for this hit is that Watson didn’t look like he chicken wing’d and tried to elbow Motte. So I kind of see the argument that “it’s a hockey play with unfortunate head contact”. But Watson doesn’t make a play on the puck—the puck goes right by him—and in general that’s a pretty dangerous hit…Motte up against the boards, head is down as he’s trying to get the puck out of the tangle up against the boards. There’s some recency bias but considering Miller got 3 for spitting, Watson getting nothing for a dangerous hit just adds fuel to the fire of the notion that the Rangers usually get the short end of the stick when it comes to DPS punishments.
Bullshit as anything I’ve ever seen. It was a headhunting goon hit. I don’t understand how they determined it wasn’t. A joke.