After a phone hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday, Leo Komarov has been suspended three games for an elbow to the head of New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh.
The elbow on McDonagh occurred in Thursday’s 4-2 Rangers win over the Leafs. Komarov, who has never previously been suspended, extended his elbow as he entered the defensive zone, catching McDonagh in the head and sending him to the ice. The Rangers captain was in his first game back from a concussion suffered on Feb. 6, when he was concussed by a gloved punch to the head by Wayne Simmonds.
The hit from Komarov knocked McDonagh out of the game for “precautionary reasons”. His injury was factored into the DoPS ruling.
Get the full DoPS breakdown below.
Komarov will sacrifice $47,580.66 in salary during the suspension and will be eligible to return in next Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Rangers did not have an update on McDonagh’s status Friday.
Leo Komarov today: "I feel sorry for my teammates because I let them down…and I feel real sorry about Ryan, too."
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) February 19, 2016
Komarov: "I'm not trying to hurt people, I'm just hitting. Sometimes it goes like it goes."
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) February 19, 2016
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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.
