NHL not happy, could still go after Dennis Wideman

The National Hockey League does not sound the least bit happy about the fact that a neutral arbitrator has ruled to reduce the 20 game suspension they issued to Calgaey Flames forward Dennis Wideman for his hit on NHL official Don Henderson.

It should come as little surprise I suppose, after all Gary Bettman personally reviewed the original appeal during the suspension process, and the neutral arbitrator essentially called him out in his ruling on the facts in this case.

The Commissioner’s conclusion, however, that Wideman’s behavior constituted intentional action within the meaning of Rule 40.2, automatically triggering a penalty of not less than twenty games, is not endorsed in this appeal because, in my opinion, that conclusion is not substantially supported by the totality of the evidence presented to me at the NDA hearing.

In my judgment, the proper penalty should have been that specified in League Rule 40.3. Taking into account Wideman’s eleven years of discipline-free performance as a professional hockey player, there is no occasion to go beyond the ten game minimum specified in Rule 40.3.

Dennis Wideman’s penalty, therefore, should be reduced from twenty games to ten games, and it is so ordered.

The NHL has now released a statement in response to this ruling, and my initial feeling when reading the NHL's response is that they intend to continue to pursue the maximum penalty for Wideman.

We strenuously disagree with the Arbitrator’s ruling and are reviewing the Opinion in detail to determine what next steps may be appropriate. We will have no further comment until we have completed our review. In light of and in response to Arbitrator Oldham’s Opinion, Mr. Wideman will be reinstated and will be eligible to participate in his team’s games, effective immediately.

That's not all either, according to Sportsnet hockey insider Nick Kypreos, the League may be prepared to go as far as federal court in order to get the decision they feel is the right one in this case.

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