Tampa Bay, FL

Toronto Maple Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul is questioning NHL's standards in suspending him two games for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman.

Controversy arose after the NHL's department of player safety didn't deem a questionable hit by New York Rangers forward Rick Nash against the Florida Panthers' Tomas Kopecky worthy of any discplinary action.

"If someone can explain the decisions on what warrants a suspension and what doesn't, please let me and the rest of guys know," Lupul tweeted.

"It makes no sense," said a high-level member of the Leafs front office. "No suspension for Nash. No hearing. Nothing."

Lupul, 29, sat out Toronto's 5-4 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday as a result of the suspension, and will also miss the Leafs' tilt against the Boston Bruins on Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada.

"As the video shows, after Hedman passes the puck, Lupul approaches from the side and recklessly targets Hedman's head by elevating and making it the principal point of contact," the NHL Department of Player Safety's Rob Blake said in an explanatory video.

"I've got to see the replay, but by no means did I go after him and try and hit him in the head," Lupul said.

In Nash's case, replays clearly show Nash's feet left the ice -- also a big part of the issue in Lupul's case -- when he hit Kopecky from behind, but the contact point was unclear. No penalty was called.

"We don't see this as being principal point of contact to the head. For a fact, we don't see much contact to the head at all," said NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan. "We don't suspend for leaving your feet. We suspend for leaving your feet and hitting a guy in the head violently."

Shanahan noted that it was a "whiplash effect" that caused Kopecky's head to snap and helmet to fall.

The suspension, the first of Lupul's nine-year career, will cost him $45,945.94 in lost pay.

By the time of the hit, Lupul already had a goal and an assist on the way to a 4-2 win that ended the Maple Leafs' five-game losing streak. But he won't be eligible to return to the lineup until Monday.

Lupul has been an offensive force since returning from a broken forearm, recording three goals and an assist in two games.

 

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Leafs' Joffrey Lupul Questions NHL Disciplinary Standards