Former Leafs Defenseman In Hot Water After Intentionally Running Goaltender
Former Leafs defenseman Ben Harpur sought revenge against Rochester Americans' goaltender Felix Sandstrom by deliberately injuring him away from the play.
A fourth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2013 draft, Harpur was acquired by the Leafs as part of the trade that sent Connor Brown and Nikita Zaitsev to the Ottawa Senators in the off-season ahead of the 2019-2020 season.
Harpur spent just one season in the Leafs' organization, where he only played in 34 games for the Toronto Marlies and has found himself bouncing between the NHL and AHL for his entire career. Harpur currently finds himself in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack, and in the second year of a two-year deal signed last season with the New York Rangers.
On Friday, with the Wolf Pack down 5-1 in the second period, Harpur chose to deliberately charge at Americans goaltender Felix Sandstrom, using all 6'6 and 230 pounds of himself to send the Swedish goalie flying awkwardly into his net and crunching Sandstrom's head between himself and the crossbar.
Harpur was given a major for charging and a game misconduct on the reprehensible play.
Not many understand why Harpur did what he did, but it may be retribution for what Sandstrom accidentally did during a game last season. Last season, as Harpur scored, cutting across the net, he got tangled in Sandstrom's stick and went head-over-heels awkwardly into the boards. The collision with the boards and resulting injury forced Harpur to miss the rest of the season.
There is no word yet whether Harpur will receive any supplemental discipline, but it would a shock if he didn't, especially considering the deliberate intent and the injury to Sandstrom.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 10 | 1578 ANSWERS Former Leafs Defenseman In Hot Water After Intentionally Running Goaltender Was the major and game misconduct enough discipline for Harpur? | ||
| Yes | 392 | 24.8 % |
| No, he needs to be suspended | 947 | 60 % |
| Didn't look as bad as I thought | 239 | 15.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
