Greig will likely be suspended at some point for his Game 4 sucker punch on Carolina's Sean Walker.
Ridly Greig will have a late start to the 2026-27 NHL season this fall.
The NHL's department of player safety announced Sunday that Greig will have a hearing for his upper-cut punch on Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Sean Walker in Game 4 on Saturday.
"I could do a better job of controlling my emotions," Greig said at the team's year-end media availability on Monday. "Yeah, that's all I'll say on it."
When asked when the hearing will be held, Greig said he wasn't sure, but noted that with the Senators now out of the playoffs, there's probably no rush now.
The incident occurred in the Senators' season finale on Saturday during one of the wildest (and most entertaining) periods of the playoffs so far.
The History
Earlier in Game 4, after Greig was pushed into and made contact with 'Canes goalie Freddy Andersen, Walker was one of three 'Canes players who wanted to rip Greig's head off. Walker was also the player who, in Game 2, dangerously took Greig out at the legs while he was at full speed, causing Greig to smash hard into the Carolina net.
And now he was getting up in his teammate's face.
But when asked on Monday if Walker had done anything to provoke being sucker punched, Greig simply said, "No." However, it's fair to wonder if that was a player not wanting to escalate the issue any further.
The Incident
In Game 4, shortly after Tyler Kleven's massive hit on Alexander Nikishin knocked him out of the game, the 'Canes soon threw enforcer Nicolas Deslauriers over the boards, and skirmishes immediately broke out everywhere.
Carolina seemed to react as if Taylor Hall's series-ending headshot on Sens star defenseman Jake Sanderson had never happened.
During the skirmish, when Walker got into a wrestling match with Foegele, Greig was right beside them, without a dance partner. When Foegele and Walker had each other bent over in mutual headlocks, Greig came in with an upper cut to Walker's face, and the video of that vicious moment has gone viral.
Officials didn't see the sneak attack, so there was no penalty on the play. But Walker got some revenge with his hit from behind on Grieg and got a two-minute minor for it.
Sportsnet's Kelly Hrudey said during the intermission that Greig deserved to be hit into the boards from behind. Paul Bissonnette said during the NHL on TNT that Greig's upper cut was the kind of hit where, if he'd been playing, he might be waiting for Greig at the Sens locker room door at the game.
Some might wonder why Greig's punch provoked such a strong reaction. Don't gloved punches to the face during scrums happen in almost every game in this league?
But when you watch Greig's upper cut, you know right away that it's different.
For one, NHL players try not to punch guys when they're down and/or vulnerable, and this falls into that category. While Walker wasn't technically down, he was bent forward with his head down, with no chance to defend himself from what was coming.
Had Walker been in a perfect standing position as Foegele restrained him in a scrum, and Greig punched him in the face with the same force, as weird as it may seem, it would probably have been looked at much differently.
But this wasn't one of those chaotic, multi-player scrums with fists and elbows coming from everywhere. This was a clear two-guys-on-one situation, away from everyone else.
Greig was completely on his own, with all day to prowl and find the most vulnerable spot to strike a player who'd probably been getting under his skin. And this was no rabbit punch. His buddy had the other guy completely restrained, and Greig hauled off and threw the hardest upper cut that he could.
It absolutely crossed the line, and social media went bananas. Former Senator Nate Thompson chimed in strongly.
Grieg isn't fazed by social media dialogue.
"Yeah, thankfully I've never really been a huge social media person," Greig said. "So yeah, I don't know. I try to stay off everything. So it doesn't really bother me too much.
Greig was asked if he enjoys being a player who gets under the opponent's skin.
"I enjoy winning, Greig said. "If it helps us win, it's a good sign, I guess, sometimes. But yeah, I'll do anything to win. My teammates know that I'll do anything to win."
There may be some lingering stigma from snapping like this, but Greig has never had a problem with being a target or being painted as the bad guy. If you're running around after him, you're not on your game.
As for Walker, he got even with Greig with that hit from behind into the boards, and now a suspension is coming. Has Greig's price been fully paid? Will it ever be paid? It's hard to say. But the first meeting between the two teams next season could be one to circle on the calendar.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News