Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jared Boll will take a seat for the next four games. He has been suspended for an interference call in Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Boll was given a five-minute major and was tossed from the game for his hit on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
In the NHL Department of Player Safety video explaining the suspension it is noted that the interference call stands because Bellemare wasn’t eligible to be hit, and that it rises to the level of a suspension because it was “excessively late and incredibly forceful.”
Bellemare stayed in the game, but a history of discipline wasn’t working in Boll’s favor when it came to sentencing.
Watch the DoPS explanation below.
Tortorella had some interesting comments about the hit that he relayed through Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Post-Dispatch. “I think what has happened in the National Hockey League (is),” Tortorella said, “because so much hitting has been taken out of the league, that people don’t think there’s a responsibility to protect themselves, to be aware of what’s going on on the ice.
“If Boll’s on the ice and I’m an opposing player, I’m going to be aware. He’s not the kind of guy to go end to end with the puck and score a goal. Nah, he’s going through you.”
Boll will forfeit $82,926.84 in salary during his suspension.
Dustin Nelson is the News Editor for The Hockey Writers. He’s a contributor to Hockey Prospectus, Hockey Wilderness, and writes a column for Rotowire. He’s also written for Gone Puck Wild, Wild Xtra, InDigest, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Tiny Mix Tapes, Prefix Magazine & other publications. Have a tip? Email him at dlukenelson[at]gmail[dot]com.
