A week after Brad Marchand filed an appeal to commissioner Gary Bettman for Marchand's six-game suspension for roughing and high-sticking Tristan Jarry, Bettman has issued his ruling.
Bettman upheld Marchand's six-game suspension, of which he has already served four games. Though Marchand is eligible to play after Monday, he still has the option to appeal the suspension to an independent arbitrator, which would recoup any salary lost if the suspension is reduced.
Bettman said in a 14-page explanation of his decision that the six-game suspension "was supported by clear and convincing evidence and is, therefore, affirmed."
Bettman held an in-person hearing for Marchand on Wednesday attended by Marchand and his agent, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, several representatives from both the NHL and NHLPA, and George Parros from the department of player safety.
In Marchand's testimony, he revealed what Jarry said to him that provoked the attack: "How about that f---ing save?"
Marchand admitted that Jarry's chirp was “nothing really out of line or derogatory in any kind of way," and said that "my emotions got the best of me and I made a poor decision."
The NHLPA had argued in the hearing that the maximum reasonable suspension for Marchand would be four games: One for the punch to Jarry's head, one for the high-stick afterward, and doubling that for Marchand's history.
The league disagreed.
"By definition, the conduct involved excessive and unnecessary force because there was no justification for any force being applied given that the play had been whistled dead," Bettman wrote in his ruling. "To make matters worse, Mr. Marchand twice struck Mr. Jarry, an unsuspecting opposing goaltender who was not in a position to defend himself. In the first instance, Mr. Jarry was already in a compromised position (on his knees, covering the puck) when Mr. Marchand approached him from the side and punched him, so it is not surprising that the unanticipated punch knocked Mr. Jarry to the ice. It is also apparent from the video that Mr. Jarry did not anticipate (nor did he have any reason to anticipate) that Mr. Marchand would deliver a stick jab to his head (which was applied with sufficient force to cause Mr. Jarry’s head to turn sharply) while Mr. Marchand was being escorted off the ice."
Bettman also cited Marchand's prior history of seven suspensions and four fines for physical fouls (excluding fines for diving/embellishment) as being a factor in upholding the suspension, and said that the NHLPA's "quest" to find a player with a comparable suspension history to use as precedent "falls short" because no comparable player exists. Marchand has received the most individual suspensions of any player in NHL history.
Bettman added in his ruling that he believes Marchand has already made "significant strides" toward his goal of playing aggressively, but within the rules.
"Unfortunately, however, Mr. Marchand’s behavior and lack of judgment in respect of these incidents did not meet acceptable NHL standards," Bettman added. "He created a distraction which reflected poorly on himself, on his team and on the League as a whole, and as such, I find he also deserves the penalty he received. Having said that, I encourage Mr. Marchand to reflect on this experience and to use it positively in furtherance of his efforts to refine and improve his on-ice image and game for everyone’s benefit."
