He called for Edmonton Oilers' forward Zach Hyman to face suspension just like Carson Soucy did after the controversial Game 3 scuffle.
The drama kicked off during Sunday night's game when Connor McDavid, the Oilers' captain, took not one, but two cross checks. Nikita Zadorov delivered one from behind, while Soucy delivered a whack right to McDavid's face. Soucy ended up with a one-game suspension, and Zadorov got slapped with a $5,000 fine.
Yet Tocchet wasn't satisfied. He argued that the NHL should've also taken a hard look at Zach Hyman's cross check during the same scrum.
Tocchet pointed out that dishing out punishment to Soucy and Zadorov while letting Hyman off the hook didn't make sense. According to Tocchet, both hits were the same, so why the double standard? It left him questioning whether the NHL favors its star players over the rest. Regardless, the Canucks lead the series 2-1 and will seek to push Edmonton to the brink with a win in Game 4 on Tuesday.
As for the controversy, it's not going away anytime soon, but the hope is the NHL can step up and make fair calls for the remainder of the playoffs.
As seen on Hockey OTB:
Rick Tocchet slams the NHL and wants Zach Hyman to be suspended
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