Considering his extensive interactions with the NHL Department of Player Safety, Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand should face a suspension for spearing against Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin.
The NHL Department of Player Safety is an institution whose sole purpose is to ensure the safety of the players in the league, enforce the rules, and dole out any supplemental discipline needed to players who choose to not abide by the rules set out before them. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always come to pass.
Of course, there are two sides to this story. The first side to this story, and probably the more glaring of the two sides, is the fact that ever since Brendan Shanahan left the Department of Player Safety to join the Toronto Maple Leafs office in 2014, the Department’s activities have been suspect, at best.
There have been players who have been involved in minor incidents who have had the book thrown at them. On the other end of the spectrum, you have a player like Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby who nearly amputated the finger Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot and received nothing for his actions.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The other side to this ever-evolving conundrum is players who just don’t seem to get the message. These are the players who, despite being suspended and/or fined multiple times for their actions, still do not believe in their hearts the rules apply to them. One of those players is Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand.
As most everyone here in the Bolts Nation is aware, the Tampa Bay Lightning has been forced to deal with Marchand’s antics on more than one occasion this season. The first real interaction between Marchand and a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning dates all the way back to the All-Star Break.
Just prior to heading to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the 2017 NHL All-Star Game, Marchand was fined $10,000 by the NHL Department of Player Safety for a “dangerous trip” (a.k.a. slew-foot) against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall. What’s .2 percent your annual salary, right?
So…here we are, the first game removed from the All-Star Game and the Tampa Bay Lightning is set to take on the Boston Bruins. Nothing could possibly go wrong here, right? Sure…
Late in the second period, as the puck is being played through the neutral zone and what should happen? Brad Marchand would slew-foot Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman in the exact same manner he did to Kronwall prior to the NHL All-Star Break. To top it all off, not only did Marchand not get penalized, but it was Stralman who ended up in the box after his incidental contact with David Pastrnak.
Did the NHL Department of Player Safety take a look at this incident? Was Brad Marchand fined and/or suspended for virtually spitting in the face of the league, the rules, and the safety of his fellow players? Of course not, why would they?
More From Bolts By The Bay: Anton Stralman Slew-Footed By Brad Marchand (Video)
This brings us to where we find ourselves today. Last night, as the Tampa Bay Lightning once again battled the Boston Bruins, Marchand is involved in yet another incident with a Lightning player which delves deep into the dirty and unnecessary side of the game.
It’s late in the first period and Jake Dotchin is in front of the Lightning net hoping to prevent any offense from the Bruins reaching Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy. Hoping to be the player to make the aforementioned offense happen, Brad Marchand was alongside Dotchin in front of the net. Then…it happened.
Suddenly, Brad Marchand decided it was acceptable for him to use his stick to give Jake Dotchin the business…in HIS business. That’s right; Brad Marchand used his stick to spear Jake Dotchin right in his no-no spot. Then, he simply skated off as if he had done nothing.
While Marchand rejoins the play as if everything is perfectly fine, here is what Dotchin was doing.
If you are good at lip reading, you’ll notice there is some rather colorful language coming out of Dotchin as he laid on the ice in what we can only imagine was incredible pain. As far as we’re concerned, he gets a pass on this one. We’d probably be cursing as well.
The difference between this situation and the one that occurred following the All-Star Break is the referee actually called a penalty on the play. This is just one of the many perks of not having Dan O’Halloran as your referee for the evening.
Brad Marchand was assessed a five-minute major for Spearing along with a Game Misconduct. Thankfully, as Marchand reluctantly made his way back to the locker room, Bolts fans could be reassured he wouldn’t have the opportunity to injure another player that evening. In the future, this is in the hands of Player Safety.
Now, if you’ve been a Lightning fan for almost any length of time, you weren’t exactly holding your breath for the NHL Department of Player Safety to step up and do anything about this. Surprisingly enough, we probably would’ve all survived the journey. It was announced earlier this morning Brad Marchand was set to face a hearing for his actions against Jake Dotchin.
Must Read: NHL Department of Player Safety Drops The Ball With Brad Marchand
Here’s where things get a little bit interesting. The NHL Department of Player Safety did not specify as to whether or not this would be an in-person hearing or a telephone hearing. If it is a telephone hearing, there is a good chance Marchand is only looking at another fine or a maximum of a two-game suspension.
However, should Marchand be called to the carpet at NHL Headquarters, there is a much better chance he is looking at a suspension of five games or more. As you can probably imagine, we here at Bolts By The Bay are hoping he receives the latter of these two options.
The funny thing is, it’s not even the severity of the incident against Jake Dotchin that has us all fired up over this. It’s the simple fact Marchand continues to play in a dirty manner and despite being called to the carpet for his game play on numerous occasions, the infractions never seem to stop coming.
Take a look for yourselves:
What does the NHL need to do in order to get it through his incredibly thick skull the rules apply to him just as they do to every other player in the league? These are the kind of players the NHL would be much better off without. Of course, the Boston Bruins would probably disagree, but then again, it’s not their players getting injured at Marchand’s hands.
From where we are sitting, Brad Marchand should be suspended for a minimum of five games for his actions against Jake Dotchin. Of course, there are going to be some who say, “but this will take the Bruins into the playoffs.” My response to this is “and?” The simple fact of the matter is, if you do the crime, you do the time.
I don’t care if you’re a team’s star player like Steven Stamkos and Sidney Crosby, or whether you’re an up and coming rookie looking to make your mark in the league in hopes of finding a more permanent position on your team. All players should be equal in the eyes of Player Safety.
If you want our honest opinion, we would much rather see a player like Marchand out of the league. Considering all the issues the league is having with head injuries right now, and the insane amount of injuries the Tampa Bay Lightning has been forced to deal with this season, this is not the kind of player the game of hockey needs representing them on the ice.
We’re starting to think the only way to truly have the matter resolved is to get ahold of the WWE and have Matt Hardy grab a hold of Vanguard 1, make his way to wherever Brad Marchand may find himself, and simply delete him.
Lord knows Marchand has already rendered himself obsolete when it comes to many non-Bruins hockey fans. A simple deletion would take care of everything, right?
In any case, it is hard to determine what the future holds for young Brad Marchand at this point and time. Not knowing the type of hearing he is set to have makes it rather difficult to ascertain the league’s intentions here. He could be looking at yet another fine, or he could be looking at a lengthy suspension.
Next: Brad Marchand To Receive Hearing For Jake Dotchin Spear
Right now, it’s anyone’s guess how tomorrow morning’s hearing is going to play out for Brad Marchand, but for the sake of Jake Dotchin, the Tampa Bay Lightning, their fans, and anyone the Bruins will play in between now and the 2025-26 season when Marchand’s contract expires with the Bruins, we hope he finds himself suspended.