Connor McDavid suggested it\u2019s time for the NHL to start searching for a new process to handle supplementary discipline, saying players are feeling \u201ca lot of frustration\u201d about how the league is currently handling suspensions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the (NHL\u2019s Department of Player Safety) has done their best. It\u2019s not an easy thing to do,\u201d McDavid told reporters in Edmonton on Sunday. \u201cYou know, with that being said, I think that there is reason to take a look at how the whole process works. If every time there\u2019s a suspension, everybody complains about it, well, why don\u2019t we take a look at the process and figure out if there\u2019s a better way to make sure both parties are happy? Because it seems like there\u2019s a lot of frustration there.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDavid spoke in the wake of Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas receiving a five-game suspension<\/a> from the Department of Player Safety on Friday after ending Auston Matthews\u2019 season with a knee-on-knee hit. The decision infuriated the Toronto Maple Leafs, who saw their captain suffer a Grade 3 MCL tear, and drew a sharp public rebuke from agent Judd Moldaver, who represents Matthews, McDavid and several other NHL players.<\/p>\n Discipline is collectively bargained between the NHL and the NHL Players\u2019 Association, which makes it notable that the game\u2019s top player chose to weigh in on the matter.<\/p>\n Suspensions are currently handed down by George Parros, a former NHL tough guy who has run the league\u2019s player safety department since September 2017. The league has total say on those hired to staff. Among the peculiarities of the discipline process for players is that the NHLPA represents both the offender and the victim in hearings.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no third-party involvement in decisions, except in cases when a player receives a suspension of six games or longer and has the option to appeal to a neutral arbitrator.<\/p>\n The primary reason the Gudas incident has struck such a chord is because of his lengthy rap sheet, which now includes five suspensions covering 26 games, and the fact he so clearly led with the knee while making no apparent attempt to throw a clean hit. Plus, the resulting injury to Matthews will force the former Hart Trophy winner to miss the final 16 games<\/a> of the Leafs\u2019 regular season. He\u2019ll just be starting rehab work when Gudas rejoins the Ducks lineup for a playoff push.<\/p>\n