BREAKING: Gary Bettman Explains Why He Upheld Morgan Rielly's Suspension

Morgan Rielly's five-games suspension has been affirmed by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

He's eligible to return to the #leafs lineup on Thursday.

In his ruling on the Morgan Rielly suspension appeal, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman makes it clear that Ridley Greig's slapshot into the empty net before Rielly's cross-check was "utterly irrelevant."

"The cross-check was delivered as retribution for an unnecessary and seldom seen play that Mr. Rielly believed may have been intended to embarrass Toronto. Although much of the testimony offered by Messrs. Rielly, Treliving and Shanahan at the hearing concerned whether Mr. Greig's slap shot was provocative, that discussion is utterly irrelevant. Mr. Rielly's actions were not undertaken in self-defense. They were not accidental and they were not
reflexive. They were not simply careless or merely reckless. With plenty of time to think about what he was going to do next, Mr. Rielly approached Mr. Greig from the side then used his stick." - Gary Bettman's explanation to Morgan Rielly's suspension

In affirming Morgan Rielly's five-game suspension, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman praised the #leafs defencemen for owning up to his error in judgment and noted that he has no pattern of such behavior.