Star defenseman given a slap on the wrist for brutal sucker punch
In yesterday's game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks, there was a brutal no-call in the last minute of the third period. Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev viciously sucker-punched Canucks forward Conor Garland in a scrum after the whistle. Surprisingly, there was no penalty called on the play.
Given the circumstances of the play in Garland's position, you are not expecting an opposing player to reach over the net to forcefully punch you in the face. The punch was intentional and should have been an easy call for the official to make. What is even more astonishing is that the referee is standing directly behind Garland, right in line with the incident after the whistle.
Today, Player Safety announced that Sergachev has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for "roughing". In this instance, Sergachev is getting away with a slap on the wrist for this extent of violence. Sergachev surprisingly avoided suspension in what seemed to be a clear-cut multi-game suspension on the way.
In many people's eyes, this is not out of character for Sergachev, as he has been labelled a dirty player before. If you can remember, he was given a fine just this past December for slashing Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting, where he received another $5,000 fine.
It's safe to say Sergachev hasn't learned his lesson and continues to get away with dirty plays like this. It's hard to believe that a sucker punch to the face is worth just $5,000, an extremely low margin for a multi-million dollar contract.
The Canucks and Lightning face off again on the 18th of January, in just five days. Without a suspension, Sergachev will likely be forced to answer the bell for last night's incident.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 13 | 170 ANSWERS Star defenseman given a slap on the wrist for brutal sucker punch Did Sergachev get off easy for his gloved punch to the face of Conor Garland? | ||
| Yes | 158 | 92.9 % |
| No | 12 | 7.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
