Cedric Paquette ejected for brutal hit on Trevor Zegras.

Considering how bad this one looks from an optics perspective, you have to wonder if Montreal Canadiens forward Cedric Paaquette might not be hearing from the league about it.

On Sunday afternoon during a game contested between the Canadiens and the Anaheim Ducks, Paquette delivered a brutal hit to a vulnerable Trevor Zegras. Zegras was playing the puck in the corner and appeared to have his back to Paquette the entire time, but in spite of that the Habs forward came in and delivered a hit directly on the numbers and did so with considerable force.

Zegras looked as though he never saw the hit coming and as a result he was in no position to defend himself as his face and head smacked into the protective glass around the boards. The 20 year old Ducks centerman looked as though he went completely limp as he fell to the ice, not a good sign after a player has just received a blow to the head.

Making matters worse, again those optics I was talking about, was the fact that Zegras was left busted open as a result of this hit. There was a noticeable trail of crimson on the Ducks forward and it was made all the more noticeable by the fact that Zegras quickly removed his helmet after regaining some of his senses. This also appeared to be a sign that would indicate Zegras was favoring his head after the hit, something the league's concussion spotters will be taking note of.

The hit would be enough to put an end to Paquette's night as the National Hockey League officials on the ice ruled that the hit was severe enough to warrant ejecting him from the proceedings entirely. You won't be hearing many objections regarding the decision to toss Paquette from the game, I feel both the hit itself and the state that Zegras was in following the hit make a pretty strong case for that decision.

The question now is whether or not the league's Department of Player Safety will decide to take the play under review, and what might come of that if they do indeed take a look.

Here's another clear angle of the hit: