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Right Calls Made in Domi-Ekblad Incident

September 20, 2018, 8:34 AM ET [31 Comments]
Paul Stewart
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The right calls were made in the immediate aftermath of Montreal Canadiens forward Max Domi's sucker punch attack on Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. Domi was assessed a match penalty, a minor and a major per the NHL Rule Book. The NHL Department of Player Safety very quickly announced a supplementary discipline hearing for Domi.

Let's discuss this from a Rule Book standpoint: This was a classic case of the "aggressor rule" being implemented. Ekblad had no desire or intention to fight Domi, who would not let him skate away after engaging behind the net, and after exchanging shoves, threw a couple gloves-on pops at the still-uninterested Ekblad. With officials coming in, Domi sneakily dropped his right glove and threw a punch that dropped Ekblad to the ice and left him bloodied.

Ekblad reportedly underwent concussion protocol testing and was fine. That's the good news.
What Domi did, however, was gutless and crossed the line. He deserves the suspension that is certain to come down on him.



Immediately after the incident, some people drew a comparison to what Max's dad, Tie Domi, did to Ulf Samuelsson back in the mid-1990s. There are some similarities, in that the attacks were unprovoked on a player who was trying to disengage. The Tie Domi incident was the more seemingly premeditated of the two -- regardless of Ulf's own longstanding prior reputation for cheapshots and unwillingness to drop the gloves when challenged, he was a defenseless and unsuspecting player and entitled to the same Rule Book protections as any other player on the ice.



Regardless of one's sliding scale assessment of which incident was worse, both were indefensible acts. Tie got eight games for the Samuelsson sucker-punch that left Samuelsson out cold and concussed. At least based on last night's announcement, Max's hearing will be a phone hearing and not an in-person hearing. If so, it means a shorter suspension will result. Whether the fact that Ekblad, apart from being bloodied, is OK will serve to reduce the verdict, I can't say. It could have been worse, but that's a matter of luck.

Any way you slice it, what Max Domi did was the antithesis of genuine toughness and has no place in the game. I detest incidents such as those. As a former on-ice policeman as a player, longtime NHL ref, and as someone involved ever since on the officiating adminstrative and supplementary discipline sides of the game, I think it's despicable. But from an officiating and league response side in announcing a hearing, it was handled swiftly and taken seriously.

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A Class of 2018 inductee to 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. Today, Stewart is the director of hockey officiating for the ECAC. Visit his official website at YaWannaGo.com.
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