The NHL suspended Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly for five games Saturday night for a mean cross-check by Ottawa Senators forward Ridley Greig after an empty-goal goal. I made it.
The Senators smelled victory when Greig slipped into an empty net with just seconds left in the game and 5.1 seconds left.
Greig hit a slap shot right in front of the net for a 5-3 win, but Lilly was the exception.
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Toronto stands on No. 71 Ridley Greig of the Ottawa Senators after being cross-checked to the head after scoring an empty-net goal at Canadian Tire Center on February 10, 2024 in Ottawa, Ontario. – Maple Leafs player No. 44 Morgan Rielly. ,Canada. (Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)
The veteran defenseman ran up to Greig in pursuit of the goal and cross-checked him in the face, sparking a scuffle between the two teams as the horn blared.
“In short, this is not a hockey play,” NHL Player Safety said in its decision to suspend Riley. “This is the use of a stick as a weapon to deliver a deliberate and forceful blow to an opponent’s head in order to retaliate against him long after a goal has been scored.”
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Rielly, 29, has never been disciplined in 11 years in the NFL. However, with his suspension, he will be forfeited $195,312.50 based on his average annual salary under the league’s CBA.
Rielly has the option of appealing his suspension, but the evidence is very clear as to why the league decided to suspend him for five games.
Toronto stands on No. 71 Ridley Greig of the Ottawa Senators after being cross-checked to the head after scoring an empty-net goal at Canadian Tire Center on February 10, 2024 in Ottawa, Ontario. – Maple Leafs player No. 44 Morgan Rielly. ,Canada. (Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe called Riley’s actions “appropriate” as the team felt Greig’s slap shot was not justified at that point.
Captain John Tavares also said the Leafs will “stand their ground when necessary.”
“Especially after a play like that, somebody was going to do it,” Auston Matthews added, according to ESPN. “I don’t really think there’s a need to go out there and have the ‘hottest shot competition’ to the net.”
Rookie Greig may not have known about the NHL’s unwritten rules, but veteran teammate Claude Giroux knew why it happened.
Morgan Reilly, number 44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs, skates against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Center on February 10, 2024 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)
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“Sometimes the emotion comes through,” veteran forward Claude Giroux said. “Obviously I don’t like to see him get hit in the face there, but he doesn’t really have much to say. Sometimes things like that happen.”
