Blackhawks’ Keith suspended 5 games
The Blackhawks have had to deal with Jonathan Toews being out of the lineup for 15 games and counting.
Now another star, defenseman Duncan Keith, will have to watch from the sidelines as well after the NHL announced Friday that Keith has been suspended for five games for his elbow to the head of Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin in the first period of the Hawks’ 2-1 overtime victory Wednesday at the United Center.
The hit, which came a short time after Sedin had lowered a shoulder into Keith’s head, occurred near center ice right as Sedin had stopped and turned to follow the flight of a puck that had taken a strange bounce off the boards.
“Regardless of Keith’s assertion that the intent on the play was to impede Sedin’s progress, as opposed to a retaliation for an earlier hit, Keith’s hit was still dangerous, reckless and caused injury,” explained Brendan Shanahan, NHL vice president of player safety.
Keith will begin serving his suspension Sunday when the Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators.
Sedin reportedly suffered a concussion from the hit and just how long he will be out of action is unknown.
“It’s unfortunate that Daniel got hurt; I don’t think that was Duncan’s intention,” Patrick Sharp said. “You never want to see guys go down, especially star players in the league. The guy’s been an elite player for many years.
“I know, listen to me say that and say I’m full of it, but you never want to see guys get hurt.”
Prior to his talk with the league Friday afternoon, Keith was hoping that his reputation as a clean player would aid his cause.
“I feel like I’m a pretty stand-up player out on the ice,” Keith said after Friday morning’s practice. “We’ll see what happens. I respect (Shanahan’s) decisions and his job and the NHL’s job.”
Shanahan admitted Keith’s lack of priors was indeed taken into account.
“We’ve taken into consideration Keith’s supplemental discipline record — which includes no suspensions and one fine over seven NHL seasons,” he said.
Keith’s was one of several big hits on a night that absolutely had the feel of a playoff game.
“Every game against (Vancouver), whether it’s a playoff game or a regular-season game, you have to control your emotions ... but there are certain kinds of switches which are reactionary and it’s the moment of the game,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It was a tough hit. He’s never done it before, so there’s a history there. The play, the emotions, the rivalry … there’s a lot that goes into it.”
The suspension means that Keith will miss all but the last two of the Hawks’ final regular-season games.
“It’s been kind of the same story all season long; we’ve had key players out at different times and managed to stay afloat,” Sharp said. “We’re playing good hockey without Johnny and (Steve Montador) and some other guys. Whenever you lose players you’ve got to find other guys to rally behind each other — I think our team has done a good job with that.”
According to the NHL, under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and based on his average annual salary, Keith will forfeit $149,688. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.