On Wednesday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety flexed its authority for the first time this pre-season, offering a hearing for LA's Arthur Kaliyev over a nasty knee-on-knee hit on Anaheim's Chase De Leo.
Kaliyev's knee on De Leo occured in the second period of Tuesday night's game between the Kings and the Ducks. On the play, Kaliyev was issued a 2 minute penalty, but was not issued a match penalty as a result of the hit.
As it turns out, the first suspension of the 2023-24 season will be a lengthy one. Kaliyev has been suspended for the Kings' final two preseason games, as well as their first 2 games of the regular season, Player Safety announced on Thursday afternoon.
These types of hits are extremely dangerous and can result in a significant injury, possibly even of the season-ending variety. I've never liked these types of hits and have long been a proponent of increasing the length of suspensions associated with such hits.
While pre-season games are not weighed the same way regular season games are, this probably equates to a 3-game suspension. Whether or not that's enough is entirely subjective. I'd have liked to see a longer suspension to ward off future types of hits, but that's just me.
