Massive suspension incoming for top 15 pick who left the bench to start a fight
Photo credit: NHL.com
There was plenty of physicality in the pre-season matchup between Florida and Tampa Bay, and now Conor Geekie faces a huge suspension for his role.
The 2024 pre-season hasn't lacked excitement or fire in several big rivalries, and on Wednesday we saw that in the Battle of Florida between the Panthers and the Lightning. During the game, Florida winger Josh Davies targeted Lightning captain Victor Hedman, and that wasn't tolerated by his team, with Nikita Kucherov first taking exception to Davies' play, showing that he can get physical and stand up for his team when needed.
Shortly thereafter, it was young forward Conor Geekie who did exactly the same, but this time, it could cost him after easily taking care of Davies when both dropped the gloves following the altercation with the Lightning captain.
However, he's now facing a massive suspension, and it's not because of the fight itself, rather the way in which it began, as Geekie violated an NHL rule by leaving the bench on an illegal line change in order to start an altercation, as announced by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
Insider Frank Seravalli makes an important distinction that could help Geekie however, as he reveals it's not an automatic suspension because it was a legal line change and it was indeed to start an altercation, not join a pre-existing one.
Whether or not he faces a suspension, it's safe to say that Geekie will have won some brownie points in the locker room for standing up for his captain, and after some solid play this pre-season, he'll no doubt have a role in this lineup once whatever suspension comes down is up.
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