NHL Suspends Cody Eakins and Mike Hoffman
The National Hockey League announced two suspensions on Friday afternoon.
Dallas Stars forward Cody Eakin was suspended four games by the Department of Player Safety for his hit on New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. During game number 452, in Dallas on Thursday night, Eakin received a major penalty and a game misconduct for charging Lundqvist midway through the opening period.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Eakins will forfeit his 85,555.56 dollars of his player salary. The money will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. This is the first time that Eakin has been suspended in his six-year career.
The DoPS released a video explaining the reasoning for the ruling. https://www.nhl.com/video/eakin-suspended-four-games/t-277440360/c-47459203.
The DoPS also suspended Ottawa Senators forward Mike Hoffman, two games for cross checking San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture during game number 441 in Ottawa on Wednesday. With just under eight minutes in the final period, Hoffman was assessed a major penalty for cross checking, along with a game misconduct.
The ruling video from the DoPS gives their explanation for how they came to this decision. https://www.nhl.com/video/hoffman-suspended-two-games/t-277440360/c-47444503.
The NHL also fined Sharks defenseman, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, for dangerous use of his stick towards Senators defenseman, Erik Karlsson. The incident occurred at the 19:04 mark of the middle frame during game 441 on Wednesday night.
Vlasic was fined 5,000 dollars, which is the maximum amount allowed by the CBA. The monies from the fine go towards the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
