The NHL Department of Player Safety Has Officially Ruled on Quinn Hughes Fate Following Controversial Hit
A final decision has been made by NHL Player Safety in response to a hit by Vancouver Canucks star defenseman Quinn Hughes on Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris.
The NHL has been busy recently handing out suspensions, giving explanations for headshots, and trying to handle CBA talks as well. Quinn Hughes didn't think they were busy enough.
Hughes was given a game misconduct in the first period of the Canucks game against Ottawa after knocking Norris into the boards, as the reigning Norris trophy winner decided to go after a different kind of Norris.
Although the play wasn't violent, it was Quinn Hughes pushing his stick into Norris' back that surely sealed his ejection, at the very least a common penalized play.
The play itself wasn't one that looked to have intent, and some on social media had already questioned if the ejection was an excessive response to what looked to be an incidental play.
There wasn't any indication that this would lead to any further punishment for Quinn Hughes, and given that here has been no supplemental discipline before the 5PM deadline, it appears Hughes will have nothing more to this than the ejection from the game.
Norris returned soon after for the Senators after initially leaving to go to the locker room, with it not appearing that he had any difficulties after the rough hit from Hughes.
Perhaps Quinn Hughes was learning from experience and was frustrated after getting rocked by Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov.
The game then became one filled with heightened tension as both teams displayed clear animosity towards one another, including from Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk; the current NHL leader in penalty minutes with 48, who got into a fight late in the game with Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua.
Despite the loss of Hughes, it was ultimately a 4-1 win for the Canucks.
Quinn Hughes now appears poised to appear in the Canucks next game Tuesday against the Boston Bruins and will hopefully have learned from the error of his ways. Hughes isn't a malicious player, so seeing this incident is an outlier for sure.
The Vancouver Canucks with this recent win move to a 10-6-3 record on the season, which has them sitting fifth in the Pacific Division and a point back of the Edmonton Oilers, with Vancouver having three more games in hand.
The Ottawa Senators fall to a 8-11-1 record, good for seventh in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens for the worst record in the NHL.
FAQ: Quinn Hughes' Fate Revealed After Dangerous Hit
Q1: Why did Quinn Hughes not receive punishment?
A1: Quinn Hughes was not punished due to not only the league's 5PM deadline, but because during the game he was already assessed a major penalty, and a game misconduct; therefore the league decided that was punishment enough for Hughes.
Q2: Did Josh Norris get hurt?
A2: While initially Norris did get hurt on the play and leave for the dressing room, he returned shortly after being checked out and was not displaying any serious injuries or any obvious damage.
In closing, Quinn Hughes did not receive any extra punishment from the NHL for his hit on Josh Norris because they believed he had already received the maximum penalty for his actions.
