Wheeler unloads on NHL’s suspension disparity

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This article was published 21/02/2017 (3161 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — Blake Wheeler has an issue with the NHL’s double standard.

Asked Tuesday about a hit to the head he took from Evgeni Malkin in last week’s OT loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins that didn’t warrant a suspension, compared to Winnipeg Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba earning a two-game suspension for a hit on Ottawa’s Mark Stone in Sunday’s win over the Senators, the Jets captain did not mince words.

“You would just like to see it both ways,” Wheeler said following his team’s morning skate at the Air Canada Centre, where the Trouba-less Jets took on the Maple Leafs Tuesday night. “Looking at the Trouba hit, aside from everything else, you would say that’s probably not something you’d want in the game. I know if I got hit like that you’d want the same standard to be set — and I did get hit like that.”

Malkin was given a minor penalty for interference on the play but wasn’t subjected to any supplementary discipline from the league.

Wheeler fell to the ice and was prone for a few minutes before getting up. The Jets were leading 3-2 at the time, but Pittsburgh tied it up late in the third period on a power play and Malkin set up the game-winning goal by Sidney Crosby in extra time.

Wheeler, who says the hit left him feeling groggy for a few days, was asked if he felt Malkin, a longtime star in the NHL, was perhaps getting special treatment over Trouba.

“It makes you wonder — if you sit out a couple games (injured) then maybe (the perpetrator) gets a phone call (from the league),” said the Jets captain. “That leaves a lot of room for interpretation on my end. You’d just like to see consistency. (Jets centre) Bryan Little breaks his back last year (last season) and the guy doesn’t get a phone call.

“But they’re consistent on our end. That’s really all we can focus on right now.”

Wheeler also didn’t understand why he was hit in the first place, since it was Mark Stuart who had made a play on the puck. Wheeler suspects Malkin knew what he was doing on the play — throwing a dirty hit.

“You know Evgeni Malkin is pretty aware of his surroundings when he’s on the ice; he’s one of the top players in the league. I think he knows who has the puck and who doesn’t have the puck. If I’m him and I’m hitting a guy like that it’s a cheap shot and I know I’m doing that. That’s, to me, the way I see it but it’s out of your control.”

The Jets begin their five-day break today and next see action when they play host to the Minnesota Wild Feb. 28.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton