Breaking: Matthew Tkachuk has been suspended by the NHL.

Calgary Flames agitator Matthew Tkachuk will in fact face a suspension for his actions on Wednesday night against Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matt Martin.

Tkachuk, who was sitting on the Calgary Flames bench at the time of the incident, delivered a spear to Martin, who was on the ice at the time, a move that went unnoticed bu the officials on the ice. 

However the incident drew a lot of attention online and that likely fed into the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety opting to review the play. Review it they have and after a hearing today with Tkachuk they have decided to hand up a 1-game suspension. With the Flames playing tonight against the Montreal Canadiens Tkachuk's suspension will be served on the same day it was handed down. 

While it seems fair to say that Martin was not at all injured by the force of the blow from Tkachuk, it's not hard to see why the NHL chose to send a message here. You can't have players on the bench using their sticks as weapons against players on the ice, no matter how mild of a blow it is.

[pub]