Calgary Flames' Rasmus Andersson Suspended Four Games for Charging

The NHL's player safety department suspended Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson four games for charging the Columbus Blue Jackets' Patrik Laine.

Segment 5: Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos do a rapid fire of topics around the NHL during opening month.

The Calgary Flames will be without Rasmus Andersson for the next four games, including the NHL Heritage Classic.

Andersson received a suspension for charging Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine during Friday night's 3-1 Flames loss.

The charge happened with seconds left in the game as Laine collected the puck and flipped it down the ice toward the empty net. Andersson was assessed a game misconduct and major penalty for elbowing.

"Andersson launches upward into Laine, elevating unnecessarily and making significant contact to Laine's head with his elbow, causing an injury," said the NHL's video explanation of the incident. Laine is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and is missing Saturday's game versus the Minnesota Wild, per the Blue Jackets.

The Flames defenseman had a hearing with NHL player safety earlier on Saturday. While Andersson argued Laine was positioned lower as he shot the puck down ice, he didn't change his position suddenly, and Andersson decided to hit upward into his head anyway, said the video.

With the score out of reach, the circumstances and force of the hit factored into Andersson receiving supplemental discipline.

Andersson, 26, had two assists and three points in five games to begin the season while leading the Flames in ice time per game, with 23:39. He also averaged about two minutes per game on the penalty kill and about four minutes per game on the power play.

He will forfeit $94,791.68 based on his average annual salary and under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement regarding suspensions. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. He will miss Calgary's Sunday matchup against the Detroit Red Wings, Tuesday's game against the New York Rangers, Thursday's contest against the St. Louis Blues and next Sunday's Heritage Classic against the Edmonton Oilers. The soonest he can return to the lineup is Nov. 1 versus the Dallas Stars.