Todd Bertuzzi's elbow and forearm smashed into the face of Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Johnson, and according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, he won't see any further discipline. Bertuzzi received a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play, but won't be handed a suspension as many were calling for on Monday night.
Todd Bertuzzi Won’t See Extra Discipline For Elbowing Penalty Vs. Chicago
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Is this the right call? I do think that sometimes, we forget that five-and-a-game is actually a hefty penalty in its own right, and I think most of us (outside of Chicago) can probably agree that Bertuzzi didn’t actually mean to make contact with the head of Johnson.
I guess that’s the issue though, right? Does it matter whether or not Bertuzzi intended to hit Johnson up high, or does it only matter that he did hit Johnson up high?
The other issue at hand is the NHL’s new concussion protocol, which forces any player that’s hit in the head to sit out for 15 minutes while a doctor examines him. According to the shift chart, Johnson missed less than five minutes of game action between shifts.
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