The NHL has suspended St. Louis Blues enforcer Robert Bortuzzo.

Bortuzzo has been suspended.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
The NHL has suspended St. Louis Blues enforcer Robert Bortuzzo.
Richard Ulreich/CSM/Zuma

The National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety has just handed down its decision regarding the incident that took place between St. Louis Blues enforcer Robert Bortuzzo and Nashville Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson.

According to an official announcement from the Department of Player Safety the league has issued a 4 game suspension to Bortuzzo for what was a vicious crosscheck to the back of Arvidsson. The NHL clarified that it felt the 2 minute minor that was assessed to Bortuzzo for the first crosscheck he delivered to Arvidsson was the correct call, however they also felt that the second crosscheck from the Blues big man was much more egregious and did not constitute what they would consider "a hockey play." 

Of course this will come as very little comfort to the Nashville Predators or to Arvidsson himself as the Predators announced earlier today that Arvidsson would miss at least four to six weeks due to the injuries he suffered as a result of the attack from Bortuzzo. This means that in spite of the suspension Arvidsson will be out for significantly longer than Bortuzzo will be, and that likely will not sit very well with the Predators or their fan base. What it does mean however is that when these two teams face off again on Monday night that neither man will be present on the ice, although I highly suspect that we are in for one hell of a game between these two teams as there will no doubt be plenty of bad blood stemming from this incident. 

If you are looking forward to seeing the Predators and the Blues match up once again when both of these men are likely to be in the lineup you are going to have to wait a couple of months. After the game on Monday the next two times these two teams will face one another will be all the way in mid February with a game schedule for the 15th of that month. 

The NHL is already receiving a ton of criticism over this decision from high profile members of the media, here are just a few examples of the responses to this news:





Update: The responses from angry NHL analysts continue to pour in.


For a full break down of the NHL's ruling you can check out the video below courtesy of the NHL.


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