Brett Connolly facing suspension for hit that put Tanner Kero in hospital.
Suspension coming for Connolly.
The National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety has announced what will almost certainly be an upcoming suspension for Chicago Blackhawks forward Brett Connolly.
On Saturday night, during the opening minutes of a game between the Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars, there was a very scary incident involving the aforementioned Connolly and Dallas Stars forward Tanner Kero. As the Stars were looking to clear the puck out of their own zone, Connolly delivered a devastating hit to an unsuspecting Kero, and the end result was Kero being laid out on the ice in a very bad way.
My initial gut reaction to this one was that Connolly was looking to deliver a hit to a guy that he was anticipating would be playing the puck along the boards, but unfortunately the puck never got to Kero making this a clear cut case of interference as per the NHL rulebook. I suspect that the league itself views this incident in much the same way, given that Connolly was not offered an in person hearing, suggesting that the league is likely thinking of giving him 5 games or less for this infraction.
That will be of little comfort to Kero however as he was seemingly knocked out cold before he ever hit the ice, and may have even suffered more damage on his way down following the hit. Kero appeared to lose consciousness immediately upon impact and as a result he was unable to brace himself as he fell to the ice, resulting in his head smacking into both the ice and the boards as he slid into them as a result of the force from the hit.
Kero was unable to leave the ice under his own power and would eventually be loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the back. We now know that this resulted in a trip to the hospital for the Stars forward, and I am thankful to be able to report that he was reportedly responding to medical personnel and moving his extremities once he regained consciousness.
The hearing is scheduled for later today, so we will learn the league's decision shortly.
