Brad Marchand's suspension fate confirmed by Gary Bettman and the NHL
Brad Marchand broke an NHL rule last night as he hit a referee in front of the Boston Bruins bench. Per the NHL rule book, this should have led to an immediate suspension.
Rules 40.1 and 40.4 in the NHL's rule book makes very clear that physical force on a referee is punished by an automatic ten-game suspension:
40.4 Automatic Suspension – Category III – Any player who, by his actions, physically demeans an official or physically threatens an official by (but not limited to) throwing a stick or any other piece of equipment or object at or in the general direction of an official, shooting the puck at or in the general direction of an official, spitting at or in the general direction of an official, or who deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall be suspended for not less than three (3) games.
It is now past 5PM, which is when the verdict for Brad Marchand's suspension would have had to have been released by the Department of Player Safety. This thus means that Brad Marchand will not be suspended, and will have gotten away with this clear breach of NHL rules.
With the Boston Bruins having fallen from a 3-1 series lead to a tied series, and now on the brink of elimination to the Toronto Maple Leafs, having Brad Marchand in the lineup will be a huge help. We will see who moves on to face the Florida Panthers tomorrow night.
Credit Blade of Steel:
NHL reaches decision on Brad Marchand's shoving a linesman
| POLL | ||
MAI 3 | 1201 ANSWERS Brad Marchand's suspension fate confirmed by Gary Bettman and the NHL Should Brad Marchand have been given this exception? | ||
| Yes | 459 | 38.2 % |
| No | 742 | 61.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nick Bjugstad | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Adrian Kempe | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Patrick Kane | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Aliaksei Protas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| John Tavares | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Anze Kopitar | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brett Leason | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Trevor Moore | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Anthony Beauvillier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jonatan Berggren | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Simon Edvinsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 16 | 15 | 1 | - | 30 | |
Devils | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
Wild | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 23 | |
Panthers | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 23 | |
Hurricanes | 15 | 11 | 4 | - | 22 | |
Golden Knights | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 22 | |
Maple Leafs | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 22 | |
Capitals | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 21 | |
Kings | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 21 | |
Rangers | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||