Erik Gudbranson facing suspension for pummeling Nick Cousins.

The National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety is going to catch a lot of flack over this decision, although there's no question that, in isolation, they are making the right call here.

The disciplinary arm of the NHL has announced that veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson will face a hearing on Monday for the absolute beatdown that he delivered to a turtling Nick Cousins on Sunday night. Gudbranson absolutely mauled Cousins, grabbing him by the head and throwing him hard down to the ice before pummeling the Florida Panthers forward with punch after punch to the head and body.

Of course Gudbranson did not simply attack Cousins unprovoked, and this is where the criticism of NHL Player Safety will come in.

Earlier in the night Gudbranson had been the victim of a nasty looking hit from behind courtesy of Cousins, a hit that was ruled a major penalty. Upon review however the officials made the decision to cut the penalty down to a mere 2 minutes, a decision that infuriated Gudbranson and may have even led to the beatdown of Cousins later in the period.

Given that the NHL wasn't going to properly punish Cousins for what Gudbranson clearly felt was a bad hit, the veteran defenseman simply took matters into his own hands. The league's decision to discipline him for doing so is certainly warranted, but likely a product of their own incompetence as well.