Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators has a hearing today with the NHL Department of Player Safety (DoPS) regarding this hit on Jannik Hansen of the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night:
This was from 5:12 of the third period in (another) loss for Nashville, 5-1 to Vancouver, so we're not sure if Weber's reaction was exasperation about the hit or his team's plight. But he was given an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct on top of the two minutes for boarding.
Ryan Suter also went to the box for hooking at 5:12, depriving Nashville of its best defensemen. Ryan Kesler, a beloved figure in the Nashville fan community, scored his first of the season on the ensuing power play.
Despite Hansen turning his body after playing the puck, this one looks pretty open-and-shut for Judge Shanahan. Weber's not holding up the offensive player like the DoPS has suggested in their informative video presentations; he wanted to slam Hansen into the glass, which he did with aplomb.
This is going to draw comparisons to the Kris Letang suspension, being that they're both high-profile defensemen who dabbled in the dark arts of boarding penalties and entered the supplemental discipline process because of it.
They're not at all similar within context: Letang was a previous offender, hitting a guy during a race for the puck; Weber is a first-timer, plastering a dude on the end boards. Letang didn't have malicious intent on his play; Weber, while not malicious, was certainly taking a shot a guy in a vulnerable state.
What do you figure here? Two games at most? Maybe just one and have Weber wear the Scarlet 'S' (for Shanabanned) for life?
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