NHL Department of Player Safety Officially Decides on Nikita Kucherov's Suspension Fate
The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed out/not handed out additional punishment to Nikita Kucherov for his dirty hit on Florida's Matthew Tkachuk.
During Monday's game between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, forward Nikita Kucherov laid in a dangerous hit to Matthew Tkachuk's knee, leading to him getting a five minute major and a game misconduct.
It was something that Kucherov is no stranger to, as he is known for some questionable hits and has felt the ire of the league once before, being suspended in 2019 during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Well the league has decided on what to do with Kucherov's hit, as the Department of Player Safety won't hand out any further punishment for the collision.
The Department Of Player Safety's Busy Season
The NHL has been busy this season, having to determine several cases and just recently handed out a lengthy eight game suspension to New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe for his dangerous elbow on Dallas' Miro Heiskanen.
Kucherov's lack of punishment could be an indicator the league is only cracking down on obvious intentional hits, though one could argue Kucherov targeted Tkachuk's knee.
It's been a rough season for the DPoS, considering they have already had to deal with things such as Ryan Reaves' suspension, not handing out punishments to players like Jacob Trouba or Zach Whitecloud, and also having to contend with hockey executives who aren't too happy about how business is being conducted.
It's strange the NHL wouldn't at least give a fine for the incident, though there may be some consideration after the break and retroactively attach some punishment for Kucherov.
The Tampa Bay Lightning can thank the NHL for not coming down too harshly on their star forward, as the team can't afford any lost time with the tight Atlantic Division only being separated by a few points.
For now, the star forward can thank the NHL DPoS for the Christmas gift of having no punishments and some extra money in his ever-growing bank account for the holidays.
