NHL suspends Carcillo six games

Had it been any other player, maybe the punishment wouldn’t have been severe. But Daniel Carcillo long ago lost the benefit of the doubt in the eyes of the NHL.

Carcillo was suspended for six games by the department of player safety on Monday for his cross-check that injured Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault on Friday. It’s the ninth suspension of Carcillo’s 10-year career (to go along with three fines), and the league said that history had “heightened significance in this case.”

The suspension is retroactive to Sunday’s game, which Carcillo had to sit out while his hearing loomed, meaning he’ll be banned for five more games. Joakim Nordstrom will take his spot in the lineup. Carcillo will be eligible to return Feb. 3 at Minnesota. The following game is at Winnipeg on Feb. 6.

Carcillo on Saturday called the cross-check “kind of a hockey play,” a statement which the department of player safety directly refuted, saying it came after the whistle and from behind on an unsuspecting Perreault, who will be out until at least the All-Star break. Since Carcillo was suspended 10 games during the playoffs last year for making contact with an official while with the New York Rangers, he was considered a repeat offender under the league’s collective bargaining agreement.