Mark Scheifele Suspended Four Games by NHL’s DoPS

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety held their hearing with Winnipeg Jets’ forward Mark Scheifele on Thursday and out of that hearing came a four-game suspension. It’s a big chunk of games, but the video released by the NHL walked through the reasoning behind the suspension.

Related: Mark Scheifele Likely to Be Suspended After Hit on Jake Evans

Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele has been suspended for four games for Charging Montreal’s Jake Evans. https://t.co/MhMHK55lmC

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) June 4, 2021

Scheifele was racing back to stop Jake Evans from scoring an empty-net goal late in the third period. The narrator notes Scheifele was traveling at an excessive speed after having a considerable distance. They say he laid in a violent check with unwarranted force. They note he made significant head contact in the process and caused an injury.

The video goes on to explain how charging is defined in the NHL rulebook. “Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner.” The video also says that Scheifele stated he was trying to make a play on the puck, but that the video evidence suggests otherwise, noting he took his hand off his stick and turned his shoulder to load up for contact. Because he did not make a play on the puck, evidence suggests he conceded the empty-net goal. Instead, Scheifele had already decided he was going to deliver the violent check with the game already determined.

In the end, they note that the player chose to travel a great distance, concede the goal, knew what he was going and decided to lay in the predatory hit anyways, resulting in an injury.

A Suspension Was Inevitable

A lot of people were thinking Scheifele would get two or three games here. That he got four isn’t shocking, but it is a bit surprising considering the Departments history of letting things go, that Scheifele has no history of fines or suspension and that four games is a huge chunk of time when it comes to missing the NHL playoffs.

This could essentially take him out of the remainder of the series versus the Montreal Canadiens and while he put himself in this position, it’s a huge loss for the Jets. This is certainly one of the harsher punishments of the George Parros regime.

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