Svechnikov avoids supplemental discipline after his elbow connects with Hronek's head. The league cites Hronek's movement for the controversial collision.
It's been reported that Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov will not face any supplemental discipline stemming from Friday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Late in the third period, Svechnikov caught Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek in the head with an elbow as he went to hit the blueliner along the boards. No penalty was called on the play and Hronek was pulled by concussion spotters.
According to reporter Rick Dhaliwal, it was deemed that "the movement of Hronek as he is moving the puck substantially contributed to the hit to the head."
In the video, you can clearly see that as Hronek goes to rim the puck up the boards, his body lowers at the same time Svechnikov is trying to lay the hit.
The Russian forward looks to be lining up a shoulder check to drive the blueliner hard into the boards, however that shift in position leads to an unfortunate outcome.
Svechnikov, 25, is a physical and big (6-foot-3, 200-pound) power forward and stands well above the smaller Hronek (6-foot), which also probably contributed to the hit to the head.
While I don't believe Svechnikov was attempting to hit the defenseman in the head by any means, I also still feel that the onus is on the Hurricanes forward to avoid a situation where he is driving himself that high through an opposing player.
Headshots are a big problem in today's game and are seemingly routinely ignored by the Department of Player Safety, which has long infuriated fans.
While I would have been okay with some sort of discipline being handed out to Svechnikov, I also don't agree with the sentiment that Svechnikov was trying to injure Hronek.
Over the span of his eight year career, Svechnikov has only been fined once by the DOPS, a $5,000 fine in 2021 for kneeing Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton.
He plays a physical game, but he's by no means a dirty player looking to injure his opponents. It's simply an unfortunate outcome in a fast, physical game.
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