Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand lost the appeal to his suspension, and he will serve the final two games of his suspension the NHL issued to him after his incident with Penguins goalie Triston Jarry.
Marchand could appeal again, but it would be rather pointless with only two games being left on the suspension — one being tonight vs. the Senators, and the other being Monday against the Avalanche.
The NHL released a lengthy report regarding Marchand.
“Finally, in reaching my conclusions I have given careful consideration to Mr. Marchand’s testimony concerning his efforts to control his emotions in order to excel as an impact player who plays aggressively, but within the rules. I believe that he has already made significant strides towards achieving this goal. Unfortunately, however, Mr. Marchand’s behavior and lack of judgment in respect of these incidents did not meet acceptable NHL standards.
“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.”
The statement also added, “To say Mr. Marchand overreacted to that comment would be an understatement.”
“That comment,” meaning the comment where Jarry told Marchand, “How about that (expletive) save?”
Here is the “framework” that led to the NHL’s inquiry in their 14-page report:
(a) The type of conduct involved: conduct in violation of League Playing Rules, and whether the conduct is intentional or reckless, and involves the use of excessive and unnecessary force. Players are responsible for the consequences of their actions.
(b) Injury to the opposing Player(s) involved in the incident.
(c) The status of the offender and, specifically, whether the Player has a
history of being subject to Supplementary Discipline for On-Ice Conduct. Players who repeatedly violate League Playing Rules will be more severely punished for each new violation. (Emphasis in original.)
(d) The situation of the game in which the incident occurred, for example: late in the game, lopsided score, prior events in the game.