Auston Matthews suspended; here's what former players had to say about the incident
The NHL's Department of Player Safety has ruled on Auston Matthews' cross check on Buffalo Sabres defender Rasmus Dahlin in the third period of Sunday's Heritage Classic. Matthews has been suspended two games for the infraction.
The hockey world seems to be divided about whether Matthews deserved a suspension or not for his stiff cross check on Dahlin. Mainstream media wanted Matthews' head on a spike, while former players were divided.
Marc Methot, former Ottawa Senator and known Leafs hater thinks that the league should "throw the book" at Matthews, while Paul Bissonnette doesn't think there should be any suspension at all, as Dahlin threw a cheap shot first. If you go back and watch the video of the scrum, you'll see that Dahlin throws the first shot and then tries to spear Matthews and give him the ole 'cup check' as Matthews comes back at him.
Former Leaf goaltender Andrew Raycroft didn't specifically say Matthews should be suspended, but stated that if it was Marchand who threw the crosscheck, he would get 13 games. You can't really compare Marchand and Matthews though, Razor. Especially given Marchand's lengthy past and Matthews' clean sheet.
Finally, another former Leaf, Peter Holland weighed in. He is seemingly indifferent if Matthews is suspended or not, but stated that it was nice to see him stick up for himself instead of smiling and skating away.
Matthews will miss Tuesday's game against the Dallas Stars and Thursday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. It's a tough pill to swallow for the Leafs and for the league's goal scoring leader, but it certainly could have been worse.
| POLL | ||
MARS 14 | 383 ANSWERS Auston Matthews suspended; here's what former players had to say about the incident If Matthews was not a Leaf, would he have a hearing from DOPS and would the media be calling for his head? | ||
| Yes | 65 | 17 % |
| No | 318 | 83 % |
| List of polls | ||
