NHL commissioner Gary Bettman upheld a six-game suspension for Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand on Friday after the NHL Players’ Association appealed the ban on his behalf.
Marchand was suspended for roughing and high-sticking Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry in the final minute of a game on Feb. 8. Marchand punched Jarry in the head during a scrum in front of Pittsburgh’s net, and while being restrained by an official, he shoved his stick into Jarry’s mask.
The 33-year-old forward argued that his actions were “stupid” but not “suspension-worthy.” Bettman wrote in his complete ruling that he accepted Marchand’s explanation, and he did not believe Marchand had the intention of injuring Jarry, but the commissioner said Marchand had to be regarded as a repeat violator.
This was the eighth suspension of his career and the second this season; he received a three-game suspension in November for slew-footing Vancouver Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
“When a player repeatedly commits multiple violations worthy of supplementary discipline within a relatively short period of time, the principle of progressive discipline clearly warrants an escalation in the quantum of discipline,” Bettman wrote. “That is particularly true where, as here, the Player is one whose career has been marked by repeated prior instances of supplementary discipline.”
Marchand still can elect to have his case heard by an independent arbitrator. He has already served four games of the suspension.
–Field Level Media