NHL must suspend Frank Nazar for egregious hit on Bo Horvat

The NHL must suspend Frank Nazar for his egregious hit on Bo Horvat.

The incident occurred in the final minutes of the New York Islanders' 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.

With the game 3-1 and the net empty, the captain flung the puck down the ice for the goal. Meanwhile, Nazar landed a cheap shot on Horvat, sending him hurtling to the ice.

The Isles did the right thing by standing up for their captain. Logan Stanley and Anthony Duclair gave Chicago a piece of their mind.

By the looks of things, Horvat was all right. He got back up and joined the extracurriculars.

The fact that Horvat seemed fine does not diminish the situation. Nazar was clearly frustrated and decided to level Horvat while he was playing the puck. Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, things didn’t turn out very well. He was late in hitting Horvat and clobbered him as he was shooting the puck.

The league, for its part, is calling this a headshot. And that’s a big no-no for the Department of Player Safety.

Nazar to have hearing on Friday to discuss Horvat incident

If there’s any good news about this incident is that the league is not taking it lightly. Since Nazar got a match penalty for a hit to the head, the NHL is now getting set to hold a hearing with Nazar on Friday.

That’s usually bad news for the player in question, as it likely leads to a suspension.

Now, the NHL could show some leniency and take into consideration that this is the first time in Nazar’s career he has faced a situation such as this.

That’s why, if there’s a suspension, it’s likely to be a one-game situation. But if the NHL determines some sort of malicious intent, the suspension might be longer.

More than one game is a bit extreme, considering that Nazar is a first-timer offender.

There is another path in this situation. If the league really wants to be kind, Nazar could face a fine. The maximum he could face is $10,000 under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. While the fine could be lower, the league may want to stick it to Nazar’s pocketbook instead of suspending him.

However, a fine would not do justice to what happened. Heck, a one-game suspension would be nowhere near righting the wrong.

But it is what it is. The NHLPA has fought hard for these rules in order to protect players from arbitrary suspensions.

Let’s see what happens on Friday. The league should announce its findings. Supplementary discipline should be forthcoming. It would be highly unlikely for the league to not issue any sort of action for Nazar’s cheap shot on Horvat.

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