Hjalmarsson Suspended For 2 Games, Will Be Back In Time To Face Sabres Again

Added on Oct 13, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

As I reported yesterday, Chicago Blackhawk Niklas Hjalmarsson was handed a 5 minute boarding call, and a game misconduct for a hit he put on Buffalo Sabre Jason Pominville. The tape is a little grizzly when you re-watch the play, but basically Pominville was chasing a lose puck when Hjalmarsson put the hit on him. The hit sent Pominville face first into the glass, and he was taken off the ice on a stretcher. All said and done. Pominville ended up with 8 stitches on his forehead, and what doctors are calling a minor concussion. I also reported that the league is likely to take action against Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Tuesday they followed suit.

The NHL decided to suspend Niklas Hjalmarsson for two games, and handed him a fine for what ends up being somewhere around $40.000.00. The fine is based on his average annual salary and is calculated under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Hjalmarsson was apologetic when he addressed the press after the win, and to him he really thought the hit was legal. “I thought it was a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. It’s good to know that he’s up and walking, and hopefully he’ll get back as soon as possible.” He also added “You never want to see someone laying on the ice like that.”

As one could imagine, The Buffalo Sabres feel the penalty wasn’t enough. A weird thing happens this year with regards to the Sabres, and the Hawks. They rarely play each other more then once a season, the last time this happened was 2002-2003, and the game happens to be this weekend. This means Hjalmarsson would be eligible to play in the game, as the hawks are playing The Predators, and Bluejackets during the week.

Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller said at a media practice, which happened shortly before the NHL handed down the suspension, “No matter how badly Hjalmarsson feels, it’s still an illegal hit, it still put our guy out and it’s still punishable in my mind. It absolutely needs to be punished.” He also added “I hope the league wakes up and sets a precedent for the year.”

Sabre forward Patrick Kaleta was much more blunt about the situation. “It’ll get taken care of either with the league, or I think we play them Saturday, so we’ll make a point that you can’t be taking hits like that against one of the better players on our team.”