Vancouver Canucks Demand Connor McDavid Be Banned from the NHL After Controversial Cross-Check

The explosive moment occurred late in the third period when Garland, known for his relentless forechecking, pressured McDavid deep in the Oilers’ zone. In a sudden and unexpected move, McDavid turned and delivered a vicious two-handed cross-check to Garland’s upper body, sending him crashing to the ice.

The referees immediately called a two-minute minor penalty for cross-checking, but the Canucks were furious, arguing that the hit was reckless, dangerous, and worthy of far greater discipline.

“That wasn’t a hockey play. That was an intent to injure,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “If the NHL wants to protect its players, they can’t let McDavid off easy just because he’s the face of the league.”

“I’ve seen a lot of plays in this league, but that was dangerous,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said postgame. “You can’t have your so-called best player pulling moves like that and getting away with it. If it were one of our guys, we’d be talking about a multi-game suspension.”

At this time, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety has announced that McDavid will have a hearing to review the incident, but insiders suggest that a fine or a short suspension is the most likely outcome. A permanent ban, as demanded by the Canucks, seems highly unlikely given McDavid’s status as the league’s biggest star.

However, the Canucks’ actions highlight growing frustration among teams that believe star players are held to a different standard when it comes to discipline. Whether this will spark a shift in NHL officiating remains to be seen.

What to know about Connor McDavid’s three-game suspension after Vancouver penalty

As one of the highest-paid players in the league, even a brief suspension for McDavid is more costly than most players

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Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid faced a player safety hearing on Monday where he was given a three-game suspension after cross-checking a player in the Oilers’ away game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.

Despite the end of a nine-game win streak with a 3-2 loss to the Canucks, the headlines after the game revolved around the match penalty with Canucks defenceman Conor Garland and the ensuing three-game suspension.

Here’s what you need to know about the incident.

The penalty

With roughly 19 seconds left in the final frame, Garland checked McDavid in the Canucks zone. McDavid struggled to get up with Garland’s legs wrapped around him for a full 15 seconds.

No penalty was called against either player, all while the play continued. With four seconds left in the game, McDavid finally regained his footing and cross-checked Garland out of visible frustration following the preceding incident, prompting the match penalty that forced him to leave the game.

A scrum ensued following McDavid’s check during which Evan Bouchard of the Oilers was cross-checked by Canuck defenceman Tyler Myers, who similarly received a match penalty and ejection from the game.

Match penalties mean that offending players are ordered to the dressing room for the remainder of the game and until the incident has been dealt with by the league.

The hearing

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the NHL Department of Player Safety announced it would be holding a hearing for both McDavid and Myers.

On its website, the NHL said player hearings are attended by the offending player, the player’s agent, the team’s general manager, members of the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), and members of the Department of Player Safety.

“The purpose of a hearing is to interview the player and his representatives about the play in question,” the NHL said.

No decisions regarding supplemental discipline is made without the chance for the offending player to explain their actions.

The stakes

There are a variety of factors that contribute to the disciplinary decisions levied against players, including how frequently they’ve offended, when the penalty occurred, the circumstances of the game and whether the other player was injured. The department ruled that McDavid would be suspended for three games, and highlighted that the Oilers captain did “a high cross-check,” to Garland’s head.

“Having just been involved physically with Garland, McDavid retaliates aggressively and intentionally, escalating the altercation by raising his stick significantly and creating this contact — a high cross-check that makes direct contact with an opponents head with sufficient force to merit supplemental discipline,” said the NHL.

McDavid has only had to appear for a hearing on one other occasion in 2019 for an illegal check to the head of Nick Leddy of the New York Islanders. The incident led to a two-game suspension against McDavid at the time, with an accompanying fine of more than $190,000.

After Saturday’s incident, McDavid picks up his second-ever suspension in 688 games in the league.

The suspension is accompanied by a fine which, given he is not a repeat offender, is reflective of a fraction of his salary based on the number of days in a season. With 190 days in a regular season, this equates to 1/190ths of the player’s average salary per day of the suspension. For example, if the suspension is three days, the player is fined 3/190ths of their average yearly salary.

As one of the highest-paid players in the league, even a brief suspension for McDavid is more costly than most players.

Based on the league’s fining formula, with a salary of $17,890,624 (US$12.5 million), McDavid makes more than $94,000 per day during the season. The NHL stipulates that a player may be fined “up to 50 per cent of one day’s average salary without exceeding $10,000 for the first fine.”

As McDavid has been fined by the league for a previous incident that involved another (shorter) suspension, the accompanying fine for Saturday’s incident could be in excess of $200,000.

Comparable incidents

The crosscheck by McDavid has already been compared to a previous incident involving one of the league’s other superstars. In March 2022, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs received a penalty for a similar crosscheck after an altercation with Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres.

In the 2022 skirmish, Matthews’ actions seemed to be similarly out of frustration after no penalties were called during Dahlin’s harassment leading up to the check.

In that case, Matthews received a three-game suspension and a more than $116,000 fine.

Forced to miss the next three games, McDavid will be out for Tuesday’s matchup against the Washington Capitals, a rematch against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, and Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.