NEW YORK – The NHL’s referees are about to come to Johnny Gaudreau’s defence.
The league’s department of player safety has instructed officials to crack down on slashes to the hands this season following several wrist, hand and finger injuries inflicted by such dangerous stick work.
It’s unlikely any player in the league will benefit more from such a crackdown than Gaudreau, whose gifted mitts were targeted all season long, resulting in a broken finger last November that cost him 10 games of service after being surgically repaired.
“Over time, it became a whack-fest in and around the hands, and players were getting hurt,” said Stephen Walkom, the NHL’s vice president and director of officiating, during NHL meetings in New York.