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Jordan Binnington Suspended Two Games By NHL

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St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has been suspended for two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct against Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman.

In a video explaining the suspension, the incident is described as follows:

With Binnington in net, Hartman scores a power play goal to put the Wild up 5-4. On the way to celebrate the goal with his teammates, he makes light, incedental contact with Binnington, who was sliding out of his crease and towards Hartman. With the play long over, and as the Wild celebrate their goal, Binnington leaves the area of his crease, approaches the unsuspecting Hartman and his teammates, raises his blocker and stick to head level, and strikes Hartman in the face with the blocker.

The reason for the play resulting in suspension is the fact Binnington used his blocker in such a manner, the fact it was in retaliation following a goal, how hard he hit Hartman and the fact it was in the head, as well as the fact the incident occurred after Minnesota had taken the lead.

This is the first time Binnington has been suspended, and he has never been fined by the NHL.

Binnington, 29, has been shaky this season for the Blues, with a .892 save percentage and 3.39 GAA in 52 games played. The Blues have entered a new era, having traded longtime franchise pillar Vladimir Tarasenko and captain and 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly.

The Blues sit in sixth place in the Central Division, only ahead of the lowly Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks.

Snapshots: Meier, Johnson, WHL Suspensions

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While the major news of the day from a trade deadline perspective revolves around Jakob Chychrun, San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier remains the top forward option on the market for many teams. We covered how teams would be potentially interested in Meier even as a rental forward, despite the fact that he has one year remaining of eligibility for restricted free agency — albeit with a pricey $10MM qualifying offer attached.

Today, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Sharks have not yet given permission to Meier and his agent, former NHLer Claude Lemieux, to negotiate the terms of a potential contract extension with interested teams. LeBrun did note, though, that “the expectation is that will happen closer to trade offers being firmed up.” But the fact that these talks have not yet occurred could be an indication that the Meier trade process isn’t quite as far along as the Chychrun saga seems to be, especially given today’s news of Chychrun being healthy scratched.

Some other notes from across the hockey world:

  • The Colorado Avalanche announced that veteran blueliner Erik Johnson would not return to tonight’s game due to a lower-body injury. Dater on Hockey’s Adrian Dater added that the “worry is it might be broken foot,” but no further information beyond that has been released. A broken foot would obviously be a massive blow for the Avalanche as they look to climb the standings down the stretch, so all involved will likely be hoping that what knocked Johnson out of the game ends up being only a minor obstacle.
  • The WHL announced that four Moose Jaw Warriors players have been indefinitely suspended pending an investigation into possible violations of team rules and the WHL’s Standard of Conduct policies. No further details beyond that were given in the league’s announcement. Of note is that one of the suspended players, Maximus Wanner, is an Edmonton Oilers 2021 seventh-round pick who signed his entry-level deal with the team in September.

Snapshots: Wilson, Sergachev, Holm

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Despite a strong 7-2-1 run in their last ten, the Washington Capitals remain in sixth place in the tough Metro, four points out of a divisional playoff spot. As they chase down the teams ahead of them, though some reinforcements are coming. Tom Wilson donned a regular jersey at practice today and skated on a line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, though the return for the first two is still a little way down the road. Wilson and Backstrom will not travel with the team to Ottawa according to Samantha Pell of the Washington Post, though Nic Dowd, Alex Alexeyev, and Darcy Kuemper will.

Wilson, 28, is one of the most unique players in the league, able to contribute at a high level offensively while still acting like a pseudo-enforcer on the ice. Racking up at least 93 penalty minutes in each of his nine NHL seasons, he had 24 goals and 52 points in 78 games last season. Since the Capitals never put him on long-term injured reserve, they can activate him without worrying about cap implications. Backstrom, whose $9.2MM cap hit has sat on LTIR all year, is a different story; the team will need to clear quite a bit to get him back on the roster.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev’s bank account took a little hit today, as he was fined $5,000 for slashing Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting last night. That is the maximum allowable fine under the current CBA. While it doesn’t seem like much, the incident will be considered in any future supplementary discipline decisions, and could lead to increased punishment down the line. For Tampa Bay, they at least are escaping Toronto with no suspensions, after being pummeled by the Maple Leafs in a performance head coach Jon Cooper called “a complete bag of you know what.”
  • As expected, Arvid Holm has been returned to the minor leagues by the Winnipeg Jets, meaning Connor Hellebuyck has recovered enough from his illness to return to action. In his absence, David Rittich stopped 35 of 36 shots in a win over the Ottawa Senators, raising his save percentage to .909 on the year – his highest since 2018-19.

Jeff Skinner Suspended For Three Games

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With Buffalo and Pittsburgh playing the back end of a back-to-back set tonight, the Department of Player Safety had to make a quick decision on what supplemental discipline Sabres winger Jeff Skinner would receive.  That decision has now been made as the league announced (Twitter link) that the veteran has been suspended for three games.

The incident occurred late in Friday’s contest.  Skinner took exception to Jake Guentzel making contact with Craig Anderson after the netminder froze the puck, delivering two cross-checks.  The first hit the shoulder with the second getting Guentzel’s face; that’s the one that draws the suspension; in the video, it was noted that Skinner “aggressively and purposefully struck Guentzel… with sufficient force to merit supplemental discipline”.  He received a major and a match penalty on the play for cross-checking.

Skinner will miss tonight’s rematch against the Penguins as well as Tuesday’s game against Los Angeles and Thursday’s contest in Colorado.  He’ll be eligible to return on Saturday in Arizona.  It’s the second suspension of his career with the first incident occurring more than a decade ago and didn’t play a factor in this three-game ban.  He forfeits nearly $146K in salary which goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Pierre Engvall Suspended One Game

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5:50 PM: The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that Engvall will serve a one-game suspension for his high stick on Durzi.

10:13 AM: Match penalties given for intent to injure come with an automatic review from the league, meaning the NHL has some work to do following the Toronto Maple Leafs-Los Angeles Kings game last night. Pierre Engvall will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for his high stick on Sean Durzi, which earned him a five-minute major and an early trip to the showers.

The two players were engaged all over the rink, before meeting again at center ice. After they both raised their sticks to battle, Engvall ended up swinging his down and hitting Durzi in the back of the head and neck. The Kings defenseman did not suffer a major injury, but Engvall may end up missing more than just the remainder of that game.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe afterward said that he didn’t think Engvall meant to make such heavy contact, explaining that “you’ve all watched Pierre play for long enough to know he doesn’t play with an intent to injure.” The 6’5″ forward had just six penalty minutes in 27 games before last night, four of which came against the Dallas Stars earlier this week for another high stick, this time on Jason Robertson.

Given the lack of injury and clean record of the 26-year-old, it seems unlikely for him to get a lengthy suspension. But the Maple Leafs should prepare for life without him for tomorrow’s game against the Calgary Flames. With Nick Robertson suffering a shoulder injury, the Maple Leafs could be down two players from last night’s lineup.

Juraj Slafkovsky Suspended Two Games

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without the first-overall pick for the next few days as Juraj Slafkovsky has been given a two-game suspension by the Department of Player Safety for his hit on Matt Luff. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that while Luff does turn to face the wall, he does not do so just prior to or simultaneous with contact in a way that turns a legal check into an illegal one. From the time he crosses the blue line, Slafkovsky is looking at Luff’s numbers. The onus is on Slavkovsky to deliver this check in a legal fashion, minimize the force of the contact, or avoid the hit entirely. 

As expected, the league took into account Luff’s subsequent injury – wrist surgery that will keep him out 10-12 weeks – in determining the punishment. This will be the first supplementary discipline of Slafkovsky’s young career but will now be taken into consideration whenever there is another borderline incident.

It is also the second Montreal Canadiens forward that has been suspended for boarding in just a few days, after Josh Anderson also received a two-game ban for his hit on Alex Pietrangelo. They occurred at nearly identical spots on the ice (though in different rinks), and resulted in the same discipline.

Slafkovsky will miss games against the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Josh Anderson Receives Two-Game Suspension

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For the second time today, the Department of Player Safety has issued a two-game suspension.  This time, it will be Canadiens winger Josh Anderson who sits as the league issued (video link) a two-game ban for boarding.

The incident occurred midway through the third period in Saturday’s game against Vegas when Anderson hit blueliner Alex Pietrangelo from behind in front of the Golden Knights’ bench.  Pietrangelo was able to remain in the game while Anderson received a five-minute major penalty plus a game misconduct on the play.  The video notes how Anderson changed his angle in order to deliver the hit, one that drove him forcibly into the boards.

This is the first suspension for Anderson who will miss Montreal’s upcoming games against Detroit and Vancouver on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.  He will forfeit nearly $60K in salary with the money going to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Matthew Tkachuk Suspended Two Games For High-Sticking

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Earlier today it was reported that Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk would have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his high stick on Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick last night. That hearing has apparently come and gone and the league has decided to suspend the winger for two games for the infraction.

As the accompanying video explains:

“It is important to note that this is not a reckless or careless use of the stick during a normal hockey play. Rather, this is a controlled and purposeful stick directed at the head of an opponent. While we have heard Tkachuk’s argument that he was not intentionally aiming for quick’s face in an attempt to injure him, he was intentionally using the blade of his stick to hit an opponent in the head, making contact with his face. And while this stick is delivered without substantial force, it is only because of the lack of force that this play is not met with more severe discipline.”

When discussing the length of the suspension, the video also takes into account Tkachuk’s previous disciplinary history, including one fine and three suspensions. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Tkachuk will forfeit $102,702.70 which will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident happened at 19:22 of the third period during Florida’s 5-4 loss to the Kings. As Quick froze the puck, Tkachuk stuck his stick blade inside the goaltender’s mask. Tkachuk was assessed a two-minute penalty and a misconduct on the play.

Lightning Reinstate Ian Cole

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October 15: The NHL has completed their investigation into the matter less than a week after allegations were raised. The league released a statement saying they found no evidence to substantiate the allegations made against Cole, and that the league considers the matter closed.

The investigation included two separate interviews with Mr. Cole as well as interviews with NHL club personnel and other individuals with potentially relevant information. Futher, the investigation included a detailed review of online and social media, public data, and court records and law enforcement checks. In addition, despite attempts by the League to make contact with the anonymous source of the social media post, those efforts were unsuccessful.

October 9: Earlier this week, allegations of sexual assault were made against Lightning defenseman Ian Cole. Tonight, the team announced that they’ve suspended the blueliner and issued the following statement:

The Tampa Bay Lightning is aware of the allegations against player Ian Cole and are cooperating fully with the NHL on an investigation. Our organization takes these allegations very seriously. While we continue to gather more details, we have decided to suspend Ian Cole pending the results of an investigation. No members of the organization, including players, will comment further at this time.

The 33-year-old signed a one-year, $3MM deal with Tampa Bay on the opening day of free agency using some of the cap room they freed up when they traded Ryan McDonagh to Nashville.  The suspension is with pay so there is no effect on the salary cap.  Cole spent last season with Carolina, collecting 19 points in 75 games while averaging just over 17 minutes per game.

Meanwhile, Cole’s agent Kevin Magnuson released the following statement on behalf of his client to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:

I take the allegations made against me today in an anonymous tweet very seriously. I completely deny these allegations and will fully cooperate with the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning, their officials and legal departments in the forthcoming investigation. I look forward to clearing my name and demonstrating to the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning that these allegations are unfounded. I will have no further comment until the NHL’s investigation concludes.

Kings Forward Jacob Doty Receives Two-Game Suspension

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The Department of Player Safety has handed down another suspension, announcing (video link) that Kings forward Jacob Doty has received a two-game suspension for interference on Sharks winger Jeffrey Viel.

The incident occurred midway through the second period in Wednesday’s preseason contest.  Doty was assessed a five-minute major penalty along with a game misconduct on the play.  Viel, meanwhile, was able to remain in the game.

The league’s ruling states that the suspension is to “be served in the next two consecutive games in which he is eligible to participate for his Club”.  In this case, it’s likely the next two preseason games that the 29-year-old won’t be suiting up for.  Doty has spent the last three seasons in the Kings’ farm system, primarily playing with AHL Ontario; he had three points and 89 penalty minutes in 41 games with the Reign in 2021-22.

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