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Canucks GM Mike Gillis Calls Brad Marchand’s Hit on Sami Salo ‘Dirty Play by a Dirty Player’

Brad Marchand probably doesn't have a lot of friends in the Canucks locker room. He apparently doesn't have many in the team's front office, either.

Marchand received a clipping penalty, a five-minute major and a game misconduct on Saturday after upending Vancouver defenseman Sami Salo as he closed in on the Bruins winger in the corner late in the second period. Marchand reportedly has a hearing with NHL's dean of discipline Brendan Shanahan on Monday, but Canucks general manager Mike Gillis didn't wait that long to express his displeasure with the hit.

Gillis called it "a dirty play by a dirty player," according to The Province.

Gillis also noted that Salo suffered a concussion, which is a big blow to the defending Western Conference champions' blueline.

Marchand said that he had no intention of injuring Salo, and that he was just trying to protect himself.

"The puck was going around the boards and I went to pick it up and was kind of looking over my shoulder," Marchand said. "I saw Salo coming in and I just kind of went down.

"It was unfortunate he got injured. I did go under him, but I felt the base contact was at about his hip point and that's usually a pretty legal hit from what I've seen in the past."

Marchand, of course, got under the skin of the Canucks during last year's Stanley Cup Final, as well.