'There's A History of Events That Happen in Toronto With the Leafs That Get More Attention': Are the Maple Leafs Being Unfairly Scrutinized by NHL Department of Player Safety?
The Maple Leafs don't feel Morgan Rielly's cross-check to the head of Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig warrants an in-person hearing. Is the magnifying glass of Toronto a factor?
The Toronto Maple Leafs are not happy with the resulting in-person hearing that awaits defenseman Morgan Rielly.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe reviewed the cross-check to the head that his defenseman laid on Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig after the opposing player took a slapshot into Toronto's empty net.
"We spend a lot of time watching pretty much every cross-check that's happened in the last number of years, and the ones that I thought were similar in nature to Morgan’s were nothing close to requiring that," Keefe said following his team's practice on Monday.
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The incident certainly got a lot of attention. On Sunday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety offered Rielly an in-person hearing, which suggests supplemental discipline of six games or more is expected.
After several Maple Leafs voiced their disagreement with the level of discipline that could be coming to Rielly, Keefe said he wasn't surprised in some respect, given the spotlight that appears to shine on his club.
"There’s a history of events that happen in Toronto and with the Leafs they get more attention, more hype," Keefe said. "That tends to lead to something such as this."
Are the Leafs getting treated unfairly because of it being the Maple Leafs? There have been incidents in the past where a cross-check to the head has warranted a suspension far less than six games. But the league appears intent on getting these types of hits out of the game by sending a message.
When Keefe was asked to clarify what he meant by his message he deferred to the league.
It's not the first time Keefe has politicked about how his team is being treated when it comes to discipline.
After defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the first round of the 2023 playoffs, Keefe, in a tongue-in-cheek manner, said that Tampa manipulated the officials after a sequence that saw both Auston Matthews and Steven Stamkos leave the ice for fighting.
In past seasons Keefe has pointed to his team's lack of 5-on-3 power play opportunities compared to other clubs, indirectly pointing to a bias.
An independent look at NHL DOPS boss George Parros' track record shows that the Leafs have had more in-person and games missed due to suspension than any other NHL club.
The NHL is expected to rule on Rielly's suspension shortly after his hearing in New York on Tuesday. Anything less than a six-game suspension would be considered a win by the Leafs at this point.
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