When the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety decided to suspend Kadri for eight games in the middle of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last week, it was a truly huge suspension. Since playoff games are worth twice as much as regular season games in the NHL, this would have been a massive 16-game suspension if it had been handed out during the regular season.
This tactic has proven successful before with the most recent example that comes to mind being Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson having his 20 game suspension reduced to just 14 games, a move that saved him just under $400,000 in salary. In that instance however Wilson had already served 16 games of the 20 game suspension, so even if Kadri wins the appeal it he may end up serving the entire thing unless the process is sped up considerably.
