The NHL has announced that both James Wisniewski and Brad Staubitz have been suspended, pending a hearing with NHL disclipinarian Brendan Shanahan.
Staubitz was ejected from the game yesterday after a hit on Jackets’ forward Cody Bass, while Wiz was given a penalty for an illegal check to the head after he retaliated against Minnesota’s Cal Clutterbuck following a questionable hit on defense partner Fedor Tyutin.
While the hit by Wisniewski didn’t seem terribly severe from the feed last night, Shanahan has been cracking down on the enforcement of the revised boarding and head shot rules with the suspensions to Jody Shelley and Pierre-Luc Letorneau-Leblond. It’s entirely possible that Wiz may miss the remainder of the pre-season, and given his status as a repeat offender, I would not be shocked for him to receive a 5-10 game suspension, similar to the Shelley penalty.
It’s a line we knew we might walk with Wiz’s history of physical play, and while I wish we’d have Wiz for the remaining pre-season games, I am still pleased that he stuck up for a teammate – just not at this cost.
Edit: Wisniewski’s hearing will take place Monday.