Tampa Bay Lightning keeps Ryan Malone as Veteran forward barely avoids suspension-NHL Update
Ryan Malone received what nowadays has become a rare blessing in the National Hockey League (NHL), as the veteran forward avoided being penalised after NHL senior vice president for player safety and hockey operations, Brendan Shanahan, decided not to suspend
the player for his hit on Montreal Canadiens, Chris Campoli, during their preseason match.
The hit between Malone and Campoli took place during their last preseason contest on Saturday, October 1, as Montreal stunned Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-1, in Quebec City, and after the incident, the team was sure that Malone would be suspended in the upcoming
days due to the NHL’s strict crackdown on head shots.
“We felt that this hit was the most challenging one so far in this preseason for the Department of Player Safety to evaluate”, said Shanahan. “In the end, we felt that Malone had committed to the hit when Campoli was upright. However, when the contact was
made, Campoli's head position significantly changed just prior to the hit”.
Just before the hit, Campoli had control of the puck and was driving it out of Canadiens defensive end, which made the shot legal, but according to Shanahan, the hit was not entirely proper itself, it is a mixture of the head position and how the incident
took place.
Chris Campoli, who is a member of the NHL competition committee that put together the new rules to disallow targeted hits to the head, was not disappointed after what happened between the two players but termed the lack of suspension as a surprise.
“When we talk about it, the biggest thing is hits to the head and I got hit to the head”, Campoli said. “I don’t want to be biased because it’s me, but it’s my opinion that it may have been worthy (of a suspension)”.
Malone, a 31-year-old veteran left winger, will be entering his third straight season with Tampa Bay Lightning and played only 54 matchups last season while potting 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists).
Had he been suspended, Malone could have faced a five to eight game hefty suspension, ultimately putting a black mark on his record.