Phoenix Coyotes lose captain Shane Doan for 3 Games for elbowing Dallas Stars' Jamie Benn–NHL Update
A day after the hearing, the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Department of Player Safety has decided to suspend Phoenix Coyotes’ captain, Shane Doan, for his elbow hit on Dallas Stars’ player, Jamie Benn, during their Tuesday night, March 20, 2012, matchup
on the road.
The three-game suspension comes into force with regards to rule 45 which deals with elbowing and the meaning of the act as it being the use of an extended elbow in a manner that may or may not cause injury.
Luckily, Jamie Benn was not injured in the incident but did fall down and stay there for a while after the elbow struck his face.
"Benn emerges with the puck from a scrum deep in the Dallas zone," said NHL vice president for player safety, Brendan Shanahan. "As Doan approaches him, Benn backhands the puck past Doan and heads up the ice. Just as Benn is jumping past him, Doan extends
out with his right elbow making contact with Benn's head."
The video of the incident clearly shows that Benn has complete control of the puck and when Doan emerges in front of the player, he tries to move around him but the Phoenix captain already has his elbow extended out, meeting with the Dallas’ forwards head
immediately.
The three-game suspension will also result in Doan forfeiting $166,463.40 in his annually salary along with missing Phoenix’s upcoming matchups against Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, San Jose Sharks on Saturday and St. Louis Blues the following day.
Doan will be eligible to make a comeback against San Jose Sharks on Thursday, March 29th.
At the moment, Phoenix is fighting to secure a playoff spot and are currently number nine in the Western Conference. Teams like Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche are leading the race for the last couple playoff spots and with other clubs like San
Jose Sharks and Calgary Anaheim right on their trail.
Not having Doan leading the team in these crucial upcoming matchups can cost them big time and even being ousted of the race for the postseason.
Being a repeat offender forced the NHL to take strict action against the player who has a three-game suspension earlier in October of 2010 and was fined even more recently for a dangerous boarding incident.
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