Joe Thornton Suspended For 2 Games For Hit On Perron (Video)

Added on Nov 06, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

Joe Thornton has been Suspended by the NHL as a result of a hit he put on St. Louis’ Dave Perron. The video (below) shows Thornton leaving the penalty box, and into the path of Perron who clearly doesn’t see him. Thornton checks him off the puck, and Perron goes down like a bag of bricks. Its hard to see if Thornton connected with the head with of Perron, but I think its important to mention that Joe is much taller then Dave Perron. Was it a hard hit? Yes, it clearly put Perron on queer street, but it wasn’t a blind side hit, and it didn’t look like he was aiming for Perron’s head. At the very least, its too close to call. The incident occurred at 5:26 of the second period and Thornton was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct under Rule 48 for Illegal Check to the Head. Here is multiple angles of the hit.

Video:

Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson had this to say about the incident.

“We strongly disagree with the two-game suspension handed down by the NHL today to Joe Thornton, What is most distressing is that we feel the suspension is not consistent to the recent reviews by the League following similar collisions resulting in players leaving the penalty box and establishing their place on the ice, including Willie Mitchell on Jonathan Toews. In Joe’s case, it was clearly not a predatory-type hit with an intent to injure, shown by the fact that the player returned to the ice for his next shift so it is clear that the contact to the head was minimal. We put a lot of time and effort into helping define the NHL’s new rule on head shots, but we feel strongly that this suspension is not a reflection of the rule’s true intent.”

As a result, Thornton has been suspended for two games and will forfeit $77,419.36 in salary. The rule stated as broken is Rule 48 Illegal Check to the Head. Thornton’s 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.

Thornton will miss games against Tampa Bay (Nov. 6) and Anaheim (Nov. 9). He is eligible to return Nov. 11 against the New York Islanders.