NHL Faces Backlash Over Double Standard in Ekblad Hearing Compared to Tavares Hit

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue strong into its first round, the NHL is going to take a hard look at an incident that happened between Florida and Tampa Bay during Game 4.

Florida's Aaron Ekblad took a run at Tampa's Brandon Hagel, a hit that led to head coach Jon Cooper going nuts on the bench, and now the league is going to take a good, long look at things.

Ekblad just recently returned from a 20-game ban for performance-enhancing drugs, and it's another terrible look for the pending free agent defenseman.

The issue here though however, is that John Tavares got elbowed blatantly in the head, and there was not so much as a glance afterwards. The league refused to give Artem Zub a hearing for a clearly malicious shot, but is more than happy to give Tampa the benefit of the doubt.

Let's take a look at the Zub hit and see how it compares to Ekblad's:

Elbows out? Check. Puck nowhere near the player? Check. Blatant attempt at a headshot? Check.

They are virtually identical plays, and the only feasible reason that Zub got away with it and Ekblad didn't is reputation. Zub hasn't had an infraction, so the NHL can turn a blind eye this time, but Ekblad couldn't be ignored.

If he gets suspended for a game, it sets a horrible precedent for the NHL. Not that they aren't doing what they can to punish players who deserve it, but it shows the clear bias they have when it comes to certain teams.

It's no secret that Gary Bettman favors the US market as opposed to Canada's, and trying to give other teams some help while leaving others high and dry is not a way to keep the league flourishing; it's going to make a lot of people mad.

Fans have a point too. Zub should not get away with what he did, and it's as clear as the nose on their faces that the NHL isn't going to help Toronto; it's been that way for years.

The league can't pick and choose when they want to punish players; that's too dangerous for both players on the ice and lead to a lot of animosity off it as well.