Flyers’ Gostisbehere Suspended Two Games for Boarding Penalty

Late in Tuesday night’s game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins, defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere delivered a dangerous cross check from behind to Mark Friedman immediately after the Pens forward scored an empty net goal to make it a 7-3 game.

While the play only resulted in a two-minute minor for cross-checking at the time, many were unhappy with the hit as it was both dangerous and unnecessary. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety (DoPS) clearly felt the same way, as it was announced this morning the Flyers 28-year-old rearguard will have a hearing for what they are deeming a boarding infraction.

** Update: Gostisbehere has been suspended for two games for Boarding Pittsburgh’s Mark Friedman.

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Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere has been suspended for two games for Boarding Pittsburgh’s Mark Friedman. https://t.co/1iPEgVipqH

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 5, 2021

The hearing indicated that Gostisbehere would receive a suspension. Given the fact he was not offered an in person hearing and has never faced any supplemental discipline before, it was going to be under five games. It will also be the first decision the DoPS has made since facing major scrutiny from both fans and players earlier this week after they chose not to suspend Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson for his antics versus the New York Rangers on Monday night.

Fans are certainly going to be riled up to see that a player who has no history was suspended while Tom Wilson got a $5K fine.

Gostisbehere May Be on the Move This Offseason

This has been a brutal season for the Flyers and the Gostisbehere news is icing on the cake. With the Flyers sitting five points back of the final playoff spot in the East Division, this pending suspension won’t matter a whole lot. This team came into the season with a lot of promise but struggled both on the blueline and in net, and as a result some changes will likely be coming this offseason.

One of those changes could be moving on from Gostisbehere. After a very impressive 2017-18 season in which he had 65-points, he has struggled to put up offence while also at times being a liability in his own end. He has two seasons remaining on a six-year, $27 million deal he signed prior to the 2017-18 season that carries a cap hit of $4.5 million.

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