NHL Department of Player Safety Officially Makes a Decision on Ridly Greig's Headshot
The NHL Department of Player Safety has made their decision final on the controversial cross check from Ridly Greig.
A decision has been made on whether or not Ridly Greig will be facing further discipline after a cross-checking penalty against Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares in the second period of the first Stanley Cup playoffs game vs the Ottawa Senators.
Greig was called for a cross check on Tavares, a penalty that originally was called a five-minute major, but upon review the play was downgraded to a minor.
The play caught the ire of Leafs fans who felt that not only did Greig get away with a serious penalty offense, but that further action from the league was justified with a potential suspension.
Now, the Department of Player Safety has made clear their final standing on the matter involving Ridly Greig.
It turns out the Grieg is not going to receive any additional punishment for the cross check on Tavares, in a bit of a stunning decision given how the NHL has been so adamant on trying to curb these types of incidents.
Sources claim that the NHL Player Safety Department deemed that none of the actions either team had ended up warranting extra discipline, which while understandable for Toronto is a bit egregious given the dirty actions toward Tavares at least warranted a fine if anything.
Consider that this isn't Greig's first time trying to mess with the Maple Leafs either as well. He was on the receiving end of a vicious crosscheck after slapping a shot into an empty net; Morgan Rielly took umbrage with that and got himself suspended for five games.
Craig Berube wasn't too concerned with anything but the games ahead, and basically said it's out of their hands and whatever happens, happens:
The referees and the league will look at things and make the calls they make. We're not going to focus on that. We've got to focus on what we need to do the next game.
It's the same as like, I thought they made some attempts at our goalie and sliding into him and things like that, but that's not for us to worry about. We've got to focus on playing.
We've got to focus on ourselves and what we need to do. The league will look into that stuff.
It's the same as like, I thought they made some attempts at our goalie and sliding into him and things like that, but that's not for us to worry about. We've got to focus on playing.
We've got to focus on ourselves and what we need to do. The league will look into that stuff.
While the league looked into it and deemed nothing was out of the ordinary, there needs to be some type of discipline if Greig continues to do what he does. He was trying to cause havoc all night, and while he has to with the stakes so high, he could cause some serious damage with his recklessness.
John Tavares also wasn't really too worried about things and echoed Berube's comments about the league:
I'm just going to let the refs and the league handle it. I'm just going to compete hard and try to fight for every inch you can and, whatever way calls go, games go, you fight through it and you just continue to play.
It didn't stop the Maple Leafs however, and coming out with a solid 6-2 victory and a huge wave of momentum heading into Game Two, they should be able to head into Ottawa with a 2-0 series lead.
Just don't expect Greig or the Senators to stop trying to make life a living hell for the Leafs, and do whatever they can for an advantage; seemingly no matter the potential consequences.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 21 | 987 ANSWERS NHL Department of Player Safety Officially Makes a Decision on Ridly Greig's Headshot Should Ridly Greig have been suspended for the cross check on John Tavares? | ||
| Yes | 821 | 83.2 % |
| No | 166 | 16.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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