After announcing a player safety hearing for Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy on Monday morning, the NHL was swift with its decision. The blue liner has been suspended one game for cross-checking Oilers star Connor McDavid, the league confirmed in a video release. As such, he’ll be unavailable as Vancouver tries to take a 3-1 series lead with a road win in Game 4 on Tuesday.
Soucy, 29, ended up in a shoving match with McDavid behind the Canucks net just after time expired in their Game 3 win last night. McDavid initiated extracurricular contact with a slash across Soucy’s hand, after which he retaliated in kind and then cross-checked McDavid in the face – only the last of which is being disciplined here. It’s worth noting that Soucy’s check hit McDavid’s face as the Oilers star was falling to the ice, as he’d been pushed by Vancouver defenseman Nikita Zadorov just prior to the point of contact.
Speaking to reporters earlier Monday after having his hearing, Soucy said there was no intent to cross-check McDavid in the face and believed he only did so because he was falling (via The Athletic’s Harman Dayal). Zadorov was fined for his involvement in a prior decision, and while the league acknowledged Soucy’s defense in their video statement, they didn’t view it as grounds for wiping supplemental discipline off the board entirely.
“This play happens well after the game has ended, and it is not a hockey play,” the league said. “In an altercation with an opponent, Soucy chooses to raise his stick to an unacceptably high level, draws the stick back, and delivers a two-handed blow which lands to his opponent’s head.”
Soucy has been fined and suspended once before in his NHL career, but neither influenced his suspension because they didn’t occur within the last 18 months. His prior suspension came as a member of the Wild in 2021, a one-game ban for charging then-Coyotes winger and current Canucks teammate Conor Garland.
After signing a three-year, $9.75MM contract with Vancouver last summer, Soucy had an injury-plagued regular season that kept him to two goals, six points and a +10 rating while averaging 17:29 over 40 appearances. He’s struggled in the postseason on a pairing with Tyler Myers, controlling a horrid 29.9% of expected goals through nearly 100 minutes together, per MoneyPuck. He has four assists in nine games, three of which came in Games 1 through 3 against the Oilers.
If the roles were reversed, the league would see the obvious fact that the crosscheck was a) in response to an instigation and b) chest-bound until Zadorov did his thing. But gotta protect pretty boy Jesus at all costs, even when he’s the dick who started it all.
Cross check a guy in the chest after he slashes you. Instead McBaby f’ed around and found out and got some lumber on his back causing the chest check to become a face check
Maybe if McDavid skated away after the horn deemed the game lost he wouldn’t be pulling splinters with his flosspick today
Only happened because it was McDavid. Joke league
No Bennett suspension when he’s done worse the last 2 years to Bunting, Knies, & Marchand, all key players, than he ever did to Anthony Cirelli (which rightly earned him a 2-3 game playoff suspension) means I really don’t care to take Parros or these suspensions seriously.
Only thing Soucy will & frankly should learn is to try to be sneakier about it.
Bennett did the league a favor with Marchand XD
What a joke! McDavid gives a nice 2 handed slash to Soucy’s legs ( who actually came back this season from a broken leg ) and doesn’t even get a fine. 3 guys involved, and the one who started it all gets nothing and the other 2 Canucks get a fine and a suspension…DOS solved the case again….LOL.
So McDavid gets nothing for the slash that started the whole melee but both Canucks players get disciplined?
Welcome to the Michael Jordan era of the NHL. The officiating in this league is WWE level stuff.
Should be 5 games
What it SHOULD be is no more than a fine. Don’t be foolish.
Can’t hold their golden boy accountable though, oh no, that would be just awful. Leave it to DOPs to apply NBA-esque bullshit rule-circumvention for the stars.
McDavid instigated the entire scuffle and should’ve been included in any ‘disciplinary’ action. Once the horn sounds mature players leave the ice while children exhibit ‘tantrum’ behaviors.
Lol at all the sour patch kids in here. Its ABOUT TIME the league started protecting the stars that play this game and brings the fans out of their seats and lines the owners pockets. If you watch all the stars and the abuse and infractions that happen shift after shift after shift that dont get called. Of course frustration would eventually boil over for them. I’m personally happy with the results. I go to games to watch stars make plays and score goals not get held , hooked, slashed,crosschecked, interfered with repeatedly. Good on McDavid finally sticking up for himself. Those here defending the Canucks players and blaming McDavid….give your damn heads a shake. I cant imagine how you’d retaliate if you dealt with the abuse these stars are taking. A calf slash does NOT ever warrant two high cross checks. One a blindside at that. And with no mention of the immediate high stick by Zadorov to Hymans face right afterwards that required stitches? This reminds me of Sids first 10yrs in the league and Everyone calling him a crybaby when regularly complaining to the refs about the abuse he was taking and not getting calls. Put your gear on and get out there yourselves tough guys !!
Many of us here have “put our gear on”, so nice try.
But you know who should be protecting superstar players? Their teammates! If they’re going to stand around and let the abuse go on, then the blame lies with them. There’s a reason Gretzky had Dave Semenko around and Lemieux had Jay Caufield.
@joecarterswalkoff, so what you’re saying is that it’s fine for mcdavid to two hand slash a guy when the game is over but it’s not OK for the Canucks players to retaliate?
That line of thinking, that what’s ok for stars isn’t ok for anyone else, is precisely what destroys the integrity of every major sport out there.
Shame on you.