St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington makes a save on Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi during the first period at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Feb. 13.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
The Maple Leafs will be without Morgan Rielly for five games as a result of a decision handed down on Tuesday by the NHL.
The team’s best defenceman was suspended for delivering a cross-check on Saturday to the head of Ottawa’s Ridly Greig.
The incident occurred after Greig, a 21-year-old centre, fired a puck into Toronto’s empty net with a slap shot with six seconds left in the Senators’ 5-3 victory.
Rielly, who is in his 11th season in the league and logs more minutes than any other player on the club, felt Greig was showboating and jumped him along the boards.
Rielly was given a five-minute penalty for cross-checking and was ejected. Toronto hoped the league would give Rielly a short suspension or perhaps simply a fine because the incident was out of character for him.
In 819 games as a Maple Leaf he had never previously been suspended, does not end up in the penalty box very often and has been involved in just five fights.
Rielly was invited to New York on Tuesday for an in-person meeting with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, which usually means a harsh verdict is forthcoming. The meeting was instead held virtually owing to a heavy snowstorm that disrupted flights along the eastern seaboard.
The NHL has taken a strong stance recently against hits to the head which can cause a concussion. Along with the suspension, Rielly was also fined the equivalent of five games’ pay – US$195,312.50. The money goes to the NHL players’ emergency assistance fund.
“This is not a hockey play,” the league said in a video that explained the suspension. “This is an intentional, forceful strike to an opponent’s head using the stick as a weapon to exact retribution on an opponent well after a goal has been scored.”
Rielly can appeal the decision within 48 hours to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman through the National Hockey League Players’ Association but sometimes that becomes a lengthier process.
Rielly missed Tuesday’s contest against the Blues at Scotiabank Arena and will also miss home dates on Thursday versus the Flyers and Saturday against the Ducks. The final two games of his suspension will be in St. Louis on Monday, and Arizona on Feb. 21.
Toronto did fine against the Blues. Bobby McMann got his first career hat trick and William Nylander had another in a 4-1 victory. McMann’s third goal came on an empty-netter with 1:39 left. Ilya Samsonov had 14 saves in the Maple Leafs’ crease.
The Maple Leafs were irate after Saturday’s game in Ottawa and pretty much said Greig should have expected that kind of a response.
The Senators’ web team, meanwhile, named Greig their performer of the night.
Rielly is the best defenceman on a team short of them. He has seven goals and 43 points through 50 games. Jake McCabe is second among the club’s defencemen in scoring but has just 17 points.
Brayden Schenn, the Blues’ veteran captain, came to Rielly’s defence on a podcast earlier Tuesday.
“I know him and he is a stand-up guy,” Schenn said. “I think he did the right thing. I think probably a majority of guys in the league would do the same thing.”
Before the decision was announced, Toronto was prepared to play without him and hope for the best. It was also without defenceman Conor Timmins, who has mononucleosis. With Rielly out of the lineup, Timothy Liljegren was promoted to the first line defensive unit with T.J. Brodie.
In addition neither Mitch Marner nor John Tavares were available. Both are ill.
Speaking mostly about Rielly, head coach Sheldon Keefe hoped for the best.
“Any time something like this happens, injury or otherwise, it’s a chance to get the team’s attention,” Keefe said. “You can galvanize or rally around that. In my time here, the team has done that quite well.
“It’s out of my hands. The process will play itself out and we will deal with the result.”
It has no other choice.
“He’s a big piece of our lineup but there is nothing we can do about it,” Simon Benoit, a fellow defenceman, said. “We just have to focus on the game tonight and that’s it.”
Matthew Knies appreciated Rielly’s response.
“It’s going to take extra effort from all of us to play better defensively,” he said. “It’s going to be a big hole to fill but I think we are going to be up to the challenge.
“It’s pretty big for a guy like that who has been here for so long to stick up for us when we are disrespected. It was a meaningful thing for our team.”