Auston Matthews criticizes league's decision to suspend him for two games

During the Heritage Classic on March 13th, Matthews and Buffalo Sabres defender Rasmus Dahlin were at each other's throats in the blue paint in front of the Sabres' goal, with Dahlin delivering a couple of cross checks and knocking Matthews into the cross bar before the Arizona product delivered a violent cross check to the shoulder and neck of the young blueliner.

Despite the league issuing nothing more than a fine for the previous 18 offenders for the same or similar infractions, the NHL's Department of Player Safety chose to make an example of Matthews, one of the cleanest players in all of hockey, and delivered a 2-game suspension.

On Friday, Matthews had the opportunity to speak with the media, addressing the suspension for the first time publicly:

Look.. What Matthews did, sure, it was over the line. However, if you're going to make an example of ANYONE, why is it a player who's consistently among the top 10 in Lady Byng Trophy voting?

The League has some work to do in terms of setting a precedent and then following through each and every time with consistently when that line is crossed.