When Florida Panthers forward Sandis Vilmanis threw a fly elbow at the head of Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy during the first period of Wednesday night's game in Sunrise, it sent social media into a firestorm.
Regardless if you're a fan of the Panthers or not, you have to admit there was intent there. It was a dangerous hit that needs to be removed from the game. One way to start to remove it from a game is by handing out suspensions. That's what everyone was bracing for on Thursday. However, if you know anything about NHL Player Safety, well, they don't always have the players' safety at the forefront.
Vilmanis didn't receive any action from the league. He left after the first period against the Bruins with what the team called an upper-body injury. Miraculously, he recovered in less than 24 hours to play in Thursday night's 6-1 beatdown Florida received at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, after the clown show, the Panthers started in Tampa, and for the second straight night, it is getting noticed around the league.
NHL insider hints at growing tension surrounding no action against Sandis Vilmanis
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, spoke about the lack of disciplinary action from around the league. According to Friedman, there were people who reached out to him about the lack of disciplinary action.
"Charlie McAvoy took a hit, and it was not a major, and I think a lot of people thought it was a major, and it was a minor,'' said Friedman. "It didn't get reviewed for supplementary discipline the day after, but I was surprised at how many people who reached out, and that wasn't the thing they were most upset about. What they were most upset about was that on that play, Florida got a man advantage; they got a power play.
"Boston got a retaliatory penalty as they went back for revenge, and then they got a bench minor for being angry about the call. I said on the last pod that I'm getting a sense with the stress of the season, the tightness of the schedule, how close the standings are, nerves are really fraying with the officiating and supplementary discipline.''
Friedman even went on to say that people who don't even like the Bruins were saying that it wasn't right and not fair how that played out for Boston during the game. He found it interesting.
Again, until NHL Player Safety steps in and starts handing out suspensions or any disciplinary action for a hit like that, they are going to continue until someone gets seriously hurt. Isn't it always interesting that this mostly revolves around Florida, and the outcomes are somewhat predictable when it happens?