The Department of Player Safety has handed down a stiff penalty, suspending Kevin Fiala for three games after his boarding penalty last night. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note Fiala is entirely in control of how this play develops. From the time the puck is dumped in, he sees nothing but Roy’s numbers. This is not a case of a player turning his back immediately prior to contact in a way that turns a legal body check into an illegal one.
While we acknowledge Fiala’s assertion that he did not intend to cause Roy’s impact with the boards, the contact is delivered at high speed and at a dangerous distance from the boards. The onus is on Fiala to create a new angle of approach that allows him to deliver this hit legally, avoid the hit entirely, or at the very least minimize the contact to ensure this is not a dangerous play.
Fiala has not been suspended previously, but Roy did suffer an injury on the play and was forced from the game. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tweets that Fiala will forfeit $77,586 in salary for the suspension.
It will also go on his record and be taken into account for any future incidents. Fiala will miss three straight games against the Colorado Avalanche, a tough blow for the Wild who are directly behind them in the standings.
He deserved the penalty and ejection but idk about a 3 game suspension…didn’t looked intentional at all
doesn’t matter if it was intentional… it was dangerous. nuff said
why on Earth would intent not go into the length of his suspension?
I disagree with a suspension. Roy’s leg was on the outside of Fiala’s making the push from behind easier for him to lose control of his balance.
The check didn’t look more than a check everyone in the NHL does on a regular basis in the corners. They didn’t seem to take the rest of the play into consideration.
So it is all ok to when you see only the number of the guy in front of you its really ok to just push a guy into the boards…i think all of you need to be put in that position and then tell me what you think….LOL
“the contact is delivered at high speed and at a dangerous distance from the boards.”
This is the crucial point for me. Have to wait until the player is pushed up against the boards so he can’t fall into them like that or avoid the hit entirely. You’re taught as a kid to not to hit in that section of the ice for precisely the reason of causing injury.
3 games maybe a touch heavy for a first time offense – I probably would have gone with 2, but absolutely need to add supplemental discipline.