NHL Player Safety's shameful treatment of Andrew Cogliano.

No matter how you look at it the 2022-23 National Hockey League season has come to an end for veteran forward Andrew Cogliano. His Colorado Avalanche were eliminated last week at the hands of the hands of the Seattle Kraken, but for Cogliano he likely knew he season was over even before that courtesy of the broken neck he received from Kraken forward Jordan Eberle.

As all of you reading this will know by now already, the NHL's Department of Player Safety opted not to suspend Eberle for what was clearly an illegal check from behind in spite of the fact that it resulted in serious injury. This drew outrage from around the hockey community, well beyond the scope of merely angry Avalanche fans, and it's not hard to understand why when you watch the replay of Cogliano being folded up like an accordian, head and neck first.

The incident brought back a memory of Cogliano's treatment at the hands of the NHL's Department of Player Safety for me, but the middle of a playoff series didn't feel like a good time to open up old wounds. With the series now over though, it's worth noting that this isn't the first time Cogliano has been given a raw deal by the disciplinary arm of the NHL.

Fans of the Anaheim Ducks will remember when Cogliano's ironman streak came to an abrupt end back in 2018 after a hit to Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe earned him a 2 game suspension. At the time Cogliano, who had never been disciplined by the NHL, boasted the 4th longest consecutive game streak in the NHL and saw it broken by the suspension handed down.

While there was no question that Cogliano's hit came late, and did make contact with the head of Kempe, many at the time of the incident had argued that Cogliano's reputation as a clean player and his streak should have earned him the benefit of the doubt. That list included many former players, including former NHL enforcer Tie Domi.

A visibly emotional Cogliano discussed what it meant to have his streak taken from him in such a manner, but he struggled to articulate a response as he choked back tears.

"Yeah it's something that I don't really talk about it too much as you're going through it... but it's a tough pill to swallow I'm not gonna lie," said Cogliano before pausing to compose himself. "I played hard and I battled and I'm a professional that has played a long time.... and I miss a game."

It was at this point that Cogliano trailed off as he was no longer able to contain the emotions pouring out of him at the thought of his streak being snatched away.

If the mere memory of Cogliano's pain during this interview was enough to stick in memory for 5 years, you can rest assured that the memory of that pain has not gone away for Cogliano himself. I can only wonder what is going through his mind as he attempts to recover from a broken neck, knowing full well that the man responsible went unpunished by the same Department of Player Safety that ended his ironman streak in the NHL.