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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterFeb 20, 2024, 01:27 PM ET
CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly’s five-game suspension on Tuesday for cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig.
Rielly will not be eligible to play again until Toronto’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Rielly had requested an appeal of his ban by Bettman following the initial decision coming down on Feb. 13. The play in question happened during Toronto’s game at Ottawa on Feb. 10, in the closing seconds of which Rielly cross-checked Greig to the face area in response to Greig firing a close-range slap shot into the Leafs’ empty net and securing a 5-3 win for the Senators. Rielly was immediately assessed a match penalty and game misconduct with five seconds remaining in the third period.
In confirming Morgan Rielly’s five-game suspension, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman ruled that the Maple Leafs defenseman “used his stick as a weapon to deliver the kind of blow the League has repeatedly made clear will not be tolerated.” Getty Images
The Leafs argued on Rielly’s behalf to Bettman that the five-game suspension should be reduced because Rielly had no history of supplementary discipline, Greig was not injured on the play and the length of this ban wasn’t commensurate to others like it around the league.
While Bettman acknowledged in his 10-page assessment for upholding the suspension that Rielly did not “aim” at Greig’s head on the cross-check, Bettman saw indication that Rielly “add[ed] force to the blow” and was attempting to gather “retribution” for Toronto with a loss all but assured.
“Although much of the testimony offered by Mssrs Rielly, [Leafs general manager Brad] Treliving and [Leafs president Brendan] Shanahan at the [appeal] hearing concerned whether Mr. Greig’s slap shot was provocative, that discussion is utterly irrelevant,” wrote Bettman. “Mr. Rielly’s actions…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39563756/bettman-confirms-five-game-ban-maple-leafs-morgan-rielly
Author : Kristen Shilton
Publish date : 2024-02-20 18:58:59
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