The NHL threw the book at its best player Monday.
Connor McDavid has been suspended three games for his crosscheck on Vancouver’s Conor Garland Saturday in Vancouver.
This is the closing chapter in a fiasco that’s been an embarrassment for the NHL from start to finish, from a pair of referees watching a player get pinned and tackled for 15 seconds to the Oilers captain being forced to sit out three games after his frustration with the non-call reached a boiling point.
The league also suspended Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers three games for crosschecking Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard in the mouth during the same sequence.
It’s a bad look for everyone involved — McDavid, Garland, referees Wes McCauley and Chris Lee and especially the league itself.
The Department of Player Safety ruled that McDavid’s history — he received a two-game suspension for a head hit on Nick Leddy in 2019 and was fined for $5,000 for an elbow in 2021 — coupled with the deliberate crosscheck on Saturday, warranted the harsh penalty.
Although the audio explanation bordered on satire, suggesting each player was equally at fault for Garland’s 15-second takedown that preceded the melee and McDavid appeared to snap for little or no reason.
“Garland and McDavid collide at the top of the circles with time winding down. The two remain tied up with Garland restraining McDavid on the ice and McDavid responding with a gloved punch at Garland.
“McDavid gets free of Garland and turns to face Garland, approaches him, draws back his stick with both hands and intentionally strikes Garland on the head with force.
“Having just been involved physically with Garland, McDavid retaliates aggressively and intentionally, escalating the alternation by raising his stick significantly and creating a high contact that makes direct contact with an opponent’s head with sufficient force to merit supplemental discipline.”
The Myers crosscheck was much worse, directly in Bouchard’s face when the Oilers defenceman posed no threat and there was nothing at all leading up to it, but the Department of Player Safety seems to like making an example of the league’s skill players.
So there you have it. The NHL feels safer already.
McDavid will miss Tuesday’s game with the Washington Capitals, Thursday’s rematch with the Canucks and Saturday afternoon’s game with Buffalo.
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