The verdict is in on Connor McDavid's punishment for crosschecking Conor Garland on Saturday night, and it's not good for the Edmonton Oilers or their fans. As per NHL.com, McDavid has been suspended for three games, meaning he will miss matchups with the Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres.
There has long been criticism of how the NHL Department of Player Safety conducts itself, with complaints about their lack of common sense, even bordering on incompetence at times. Now, the three-game suspension of McDavid is arguably the most significant proof yet of just this.
Before we get into this, let's be clear in stressing that McDavid was wrong for what he did, with his high crosscheck on Garland at the end of Saturday night's game in Vancouver in a 3-2 loss to the Canucks. However, once you consider all of the context surrounding what happened, it really does make a farce of how the NHL has dealt with this situation.
Prior to the crosscheck by Connor McDavid
First of all there's the buildup to the crosscheck, with Garland holding McDavid down on the ice for way longer than was necessary or right. However, the game officials did nothing, either then or in general on the night, with three or four occasions when they should have called penalties on the Canucks winger for his treatment of the Oilers centre.
It was because of this horrible officiating, that McDavid's frustration built up and he eventually snapped. Again, no excuse for what he did, but his reaction was entirely understandable, with the game officials complicit in their lack of action on the night to protect the NHL's biggest star. (You would never see this happen to the likes of LeBron James or previously Michael Jordan with -- if anything -- the NBA actually being too protective of and biased towards their superstars.)
In fact it seems the NHL is really falling short when it comes to protecting number 97 on the ice full stop. Consider a social media post from Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, where he noted McDavid currently sits 197th in penalties drawn/per 60 at 0.89 (minimum 10 games played), which is quite frankly both appalling and concerning.
Can the NHL justify a three-game suspension?
Ahead of the hearing, the majority of hockey media analysts believed McDavid would get one or two games, so why did it end up being a three-game suspension? Well one line of subsequent thinking is because this is the second suspension of his career, with him previously receiving two games back in 2019 for an illegal check to the head.
However, this doesn't stand up to closer scrutiny when you consider that Tyler Myers also received a three game suspension for his own crosscheck on Saturday night, against the Oilers' Evan Bouchard. Consider that Myers has been suspended twice previously and both times for three games.
Heck, Myers' crosscheck on Bouchard even looked more serious/nasty than McDavid's. And last time we checked, the Canucks defenceman hadn't just been held down on the ice for 15 seconds by an opponent. (Not that we have any issue with Myers in a general sense, who has had a long and impressive career in the NHL.)
Ultimately, McDavid did deserve a suspension of some kind, but it's embarrassing that it even reached this point. The game officials from Saturday night, the NHL Department of Player Safety and even commissioner Gary Bettman, should all be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.