Follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulStewart22

Hockey is an emotional game. Nevertheless, the emotion within a game never gives a player license to make deliberate physical contact with an official. The NHL Rule Book is very clear about the procedures.

Abuse of an official, depending on the category of severity deemed by the game's on-ice officials, carries an automatic three-game, 10-game or 20-game suspension as determined on the ice and a subsequent written and verbal report to the commissioner.

Only the commissioner himself, not DOPS, can alter the length of suspension, and this is -- or was -- originally intended to apply only to the most severe suspension category. (If the commissioner upholds or lengthens the suspension, the player then has the right to take the NHL to an independent arbitrator).

In the case of San Jose Sharks' winger's suspension this week, it was a no-brainer that it fit in the 10-game category and not the three.

"The crux of the three-game category in this instance: "Any player who, by his actions...deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall be suspended for not less than three (3) games."

This is the 10-game category: "Deliberately applying physical force without intent to injure an official." The distinction between the two categories is the added wordage in the milder category about the player specifically trying to get free during an on-ice altercation between the two teams.

In Kane's case, there was an altercation that he'd been separated from -- not very effectively or in the fashion in which officials are trained -- but that situation had died died down by the time Kane and the linesman tumbled to the ice. Kane's subsequent response -- a non-forceful, but nevertheless inappropriate and dangerous shove to the official -- had nothing to do with getting free to get back at the opponent and everything to do with feeling angry and embarrassed. That's a 10-gamer, in my opinion.

What we've seen in recent years is the abuse of an official standards getting laxer and laxer. Officials themselves too often take the path of least resistance -- it's easier to hand out a 10-minute misconduct and otherwise let the incident slide or to declare it a three-gamer rather than a 10 because there's more red tape and more pushback on the other side.

My view is that officials owe it not only to themselves but to their fellow officials' safety to NOT let these incidents slide or downgrade them. Kane should consider himself lucky that he's sitting for three and not for 10, let alone anyone squawking about appealing it.

That's all I have to say about this.


*********

A 2018 inductee into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.

Visit Paul's official websites, YaWannaGo.com and Officiating by Stewart.