Players have been getting suspended left right and centre this NHL season and you can count Jakub Voracek as the league’s latest victim.
Voracek was slapped with two games after a dangerous looking interference penalty on New York Islanders defenceman Johnny Boychuk. Boychuk appeared to be skating towards a puck in the corner when Voracek caught him off guard with a hit to the head. Voracek didn’t seem to think it was bad, at least that’s what fans can take away from the cheeky tweet he posted after the NHL’s Player Safety department made its ruling.
It’s pretty clear that Flyers fans (and quite possibly Voracek) are still salty about a separate incident involving the team that drew a shorter suspension. In a meeting between Philly and the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 12, Evgeni Malkin was handed just a single game after deliberately swinging his stick at forward Michael Raffl’s head. Luckily the swing just missed his face and avoided what could have been an absolutely disastrous moment.
Fans are asking for an appeal process but according to superstar Connor McDavid, it really isn’t much of an ‘appeal’ process at all. He expressed his frustration with the way things panned out after also getting two games for a hit that ironically took place against the Isles.
Voracek is in the midst of another impressive season (18 goals, 43 assists), but if things shake out the same way as McDavid then he’ll be spending his next two contests from the press box. So hockey fans, did the league get this one right?
(H/T Jakub Voracek)
