Pontus Holmberg facing suspension after retaliating against Ridly Greig for his empty-net slapshot last season
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg could be facing a suspension from the department of player safety after a brutal hit he made on Ottawa Senators forward Ridley Grieg.
The Senators were breaking the puck out of their own zone and all the players on the ice were heading towards the Leafs end of the ice when Holmberg came up behind Grieg and dragged him down to the ice, throwing him to the side. The Senators forward appeared to hit his head on the ice quite violently and the team announced shortly after the play that he would not return to the game with an upper-body injury, clearly a result of the play.
Fan reaction to the hit was very mixed with Leafs fans largely calling Grieg a diver, among other things. However, more level-headed fans called out the play for being dirty. One fan even asked if players can be suspended for hits in pre-season games. As Capitals forward Tom Wilson knows, players can very well be suspended for pre-season hits.
Some fans pointed out that Holmberg likely did this as a way to get noticed by the Leafs coaching staff. After all, he will be battling for a roster spot this season after he appeared in 54 games with the team last season. His roster spot is very much not a given, especially with a new coaching staff.
Of course, Grieg was not just a random target either. Holmberg very well knew who he was going after, especially since he came up behind him and would have been able to read his name plate. This is very likely retaliation for Grieg's slapshot he took into the empty net against the Leafs last season, which resulted in chaos for the Leafs. Morgan Rielly was suspended five games for retaliating against Greig on the play last February.
This will surely not be the end of this story as the Leafs and Sens haven't even played a single regular-season game. Expect more of this as the teams meet this season.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Pontus Holmberg deserves a suspension for this play against Senators forward Ridley Grieg? | ||
| Yes | 109 | 61.2 % |
| No | 69 | 38.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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