There has been a number of questionable hits early into the 2021-22 season, but perhaps the ugliest incident so far this season came in a game on Thursday night between the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche.
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During the third period, Canucks defenceman Tucker Poolman took a hit from Colorado Avalanche’s Kiefer Sherwood. Clearly, Poolman wasn’t a fan of the hit and responded with a one-armed stick swing which hit Sherwood in the head. He was immediately assessed a 10-minute match penalty for the incident, and to no one’s surprise, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that he would have a hearing as a result. On Friday, Poolman was suspended for two games.
While he did go down on the play, Sherwood was thankfully able to remain in the game, one in which his team went on to win by a final score of 7-1. It was just his third game of the season after being recalled from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League earlier this month.
Poolman, 28, will very likely be suspended for this dangerous play, one which he never should have made. He was clearly frustrated given that his team was being outplayed heavily by the Avalanche, but there is still no excuse for this type of play. He signed a four-year, $10 million deal with the Canucks this offseason, and they will need him to be more disciplined moving forward.
Friday night’s loss, capped off with the major penalty to Poolman, is a general summary of how the Canucks 2021-22 season has gone to this point. After a down 2020-21 campaign, many expected them to bounce back and be in the running for a playoff position in the Pacific Division. Instead, they sit at a very disappointing 5-7-2 record through 14 games, while their most talented player in Elias Pettersson has struggled early on.
Of course, it is still very early into the year, meaning the Canucks do have time to turn this around. So far, however, things are concerning, as this team doesn’t seem to show a lot of will night in and night out. Things need to start going their way soon or changes could be coming. As for Poolman, expect a decision on a suspension to come at some point on Friday afternoon.
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