NHL director of player safety Brendan Shanahan and the rest of his office aren’t getting any breaks even if it is only the preseason.
There’s been plenty of nasty play so far in the exhibition slate, and that continued Saturday night in the Oilers-Canucks game. While the infraction was seemingly a mistake, there could certainly be discipline on the way for Vancouver’s Zack Kassian.
Kassian will have an in-person hearing with the NHL after he caught Edmonton’s Sam Gagner with an errant high-stick on Saturday night. As Gagner tried to skate up the ice along the boards, Kassian went for a big hit. When Kassian missed that hit, he ended up flying into the glass back-first. At the same time, he flung his arms out and in the process, caught Gagner with a reckless high-stick.
Kassian was hit with a double-minor
Gagner certainly felt the impact. He was left with a broken jaw from the incident, and he’ll be out indefinitely with the injury. Since Kassian was offered the option of an in-person hearing, it means he could be suspended for five games or more. That hearing was scheduled for Monday.
See the reckless play in the video below.
