NHL Player Safety makes early announcement regarding Ryan Reaves.

It now seems like a forgone conclusion, Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves will be suspended by the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety.

Early on Sunday morning, Player Safety made a public announcement revealing that Reaves would have a hearing that will also take place on Sunday for the devastating hit he delivered to Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse on Saturday night. The hearing does not appear to be an in-person hearing, which could suggest that the penalty for Reaves won't be as lengthy as some may have expected given the severity of the damage done to Nurse.

Reaves delivered a brutal hit to Nurse during the opening minutes of the second period of Saturday night's game between the Oilers and Leafs. Nurse was coming around the back of the net and had his head down while looking at the puck when Reaves caught him up high and to the head. Nurse appeared to have be caught by surprise as a result of having his head down, which no doubt contributed to how severely he appeared to be injured.

Nurse did his best to try and get back up to his feet but appeared to be seeing stars with the damage from the hit also clearly visible on his face which had been busted open. A crimson streak was visible both on the ice and on Nurse's face, only adding to how ugly the whole scene looked on Saturday night.

It likely did not help that Nurse appeared to smack his head and face on the ice as he went down from the hit, likely adding to just how hurt he was as a result of the entire incident.

I suspect that the ugly looking visual produced by the whole scene will play a factor in how severely Reaves will be disciplined by the league, especially given the uproar the hit appears to have produced on social media.

Update: The NHL's Department of Player Safety has issued Reaves a massive suspension on Sunday evening following this incident.