Darryl Sutter calls out NHL Player Safety.

Darryl Sutter is not pleased.

Although we won't know the outcome of the hearing until later today, it seems very likely that the Calgary Flames will have to play Game 7 of their first round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Dallas Stars without the services of veteran defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Zadorov is scheduled to have a hearing later today for a hit he delivered to Dallas Stars veteran forward Luke Glendening in Game 6 of this series and chances are high that the outcome of that hearing will be a suspension for Zadorov.

On Saturday, Sutter was asked about the decision from the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety to hold Zadorov accountable for the hit and he expressed his displeasure with the decision. Sutter not only indicated that he felt the hit did not warrant supplemental discipline but went a step further when he pointed out that perhaps some other incidents in this series were more worthy of suspension than the hit from Zadorov.

"It was a hockey play," said Sutter of the Zadorov hit on Glendening. "I totally disagree there should be a hearing considering there’s been slew-foots in this series."

Sutter did not go into any details regarding what slew foot he might be talking about here, but I suspect that he was taking a not so subtle shot at Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn. In Game 3 of the series Benn was involved in a controversial incident in which he appeared to slew foot Calgary Flames defenseman Christopher Tanev, a play that would go uncalled on the ice at the time.

In this instance George Paros and the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety did not opt to review the play and no supplemental discipline was handed out to Benn as a result of his actions against Tanev. I believe that Sutter feels that either the slew foot from Benn should have also been a suspendable offense, or neither the slew foot from Benn nor the hit from Zadorov should rise to the level of a suspension in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Update: Perhaps Sutter will be happy now given the surprising announcement form NHL Player Safety.