If you’re the betting type, here’s hoping you took the under on the suspension levied against Zack Kassian. More than four hours after the Edmonton Oilers winger sat down to meet with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, the decision has come down: a paltry seven-game ban.
Stunning about the suspension is not only its length, but its length paired with what seemed as if it was the perfect storm for the Department of Player Safety to come down swiftly and mightily on Kassian and throw the book at him for the most boneheaded of boneheaded plays. Consider the background: Kassian is a repeat offender who was playing just his eighth game since returning from the two-game suspension he earned for the bare-knuckle beating he put on the Calgary Flames’ Matthew Tkachuk.