Blackhawks' Carcillo hit with 7-game suspension

It's turning into possibly the most costly hit of Daniel Carcillo's career.

Not only did Carcillo injure his left knee when he drilled Edmonton's Tom Gilbert into the boards Monday, he was suspended seven games by the NHL on Wednesday for the reckless play.

Carcillo can't begin serving his second suspension of the season until he is healthy, and who knows when that might be.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on Wednesday wasn't ready to offer a medical update on Carcillo's knee injury, which apparently is serious enough where surgery is being considered.

“We're still talking about the options with him there,” Quenneville said. “He had some tests done (Tuesday), so we're still evaluating them.”

In announcing Carcillo's seven-game suspension, Brendan Shanahan, the NHL's vice president of player safety, cited the fact Gilbert was hurt on the play and that Carcillo has been either fined or suspended nine times previously, including a two-game suspension for boarding Carolina's Joni Pitkanen just two months ago.

Shanahan said Carcillo “exploded” into Gilbert “causing a violent crash” into the boards.

“This is clearly a violation of the boarding rule,” Shanahan said. “This was not a case of two players bumping for position and one player winning the battle. At an extremely dangerous distance from the boards, Carcillo finishes high and hard using the boards as a weapon.”

Carcillo will forfeit $66,158 in salary during his suspension.

Quenneville and Carcillo's teammates have tried to look at the hit objectively.

Quenneville called it a “counter hit,” but he didn't argue it was a penalty.

“We've been talking about suspensions and head shots and different places we have to be careful,” Jonathan Toews said. “Obviously maybe he has a bit of a reputation so that might play into it, but we stand behind him. He's a physical player and he's going out there trying to create energy for our team.”