Player Safety hands Austin Watson a multi-game suspension for hit on Jack Ahcan.

The Ottawa Senators will have to make due without veteran forward Austin Watson for the next few games on their schedule.

On Sunday morning the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced that Watson would be receiving a 2 game suspension for a late hit delivered to Boston Bruins defenseman Jack Ahcan during a game that was played on Saturday afternoon. I don't expect there will be much of a protest from the Senators fan base on this one as the hit was not only late, but also appeared to catch Ahcan in the head as well.

The incident in question occurred as both players were chasing the puck into the corner with Ahcan getting there much sooner than Watson. In fact Ahcan had already made a play on the puck and the puck was long gone by the time that Watson came in to deliver the hit, a decision that earned Watson a 2 minute minor penalty from the officials on the ice at the time that it occurred. I suspect the fact that the blow caught Ahcan up high was the motivating factor behind the NHL's decision to slap Watson with an additional 2 games, and considering how blatantly late the hit was I can't say that I blame them for this particular ruling.

Here's a replay of the hit itself if you haven't seen it:

As you can see Ahcan even had time to turn around and admire his attempt to move the puck up the boards before Watson ever came in to deliver the hit, and you can also see his head whip backwards after contact is made by the bigger man in Austin Watson.

As is often the case with these rulings the NHL's Department of Player Safety has released a full breakdown of their decision. The main points that led the league to award Watson with 2 games were, according to the breakdown, the significant force of the blow to the head, the fact that it was clearly interference, and the lack of disciplinary history for Watson.

You can view that breakdown in the video below: