Nazem Kadri could very well be facing a suspension for the cheap shot he threw on Tommy Wingels Thursday night, but the Toronto Maple Leafs center insists the hit was not intentional.
After he seemingly sized up Wingels and nailed him against the boards while the Boston Bruins forward was on his knees, Kadri told reporters he felt he had already committed to the hit before Wingels began to fall.
“Initially, I thought he made contact with (Mitchell Marmer’s) head and I didn’t see a call there,” Kadri explained, via Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal. “He was turned up the wall so I was committed to the hit and he ended up falling, it happened pretty quick. And then I think he was reaching for the puck. I haven’t really watched it yet but I don’t think I stuck my leg out or my arm out or whatever the case is, but it’s in the hands of the NHL at this point.”
Kadri wouldn’t say whether he believed he would be suspended.
“Like I said, it’s out of my control at this point,” he added. “I certainly wasn’t trying to hit him when he was down like that. I just felt like he … I was already committed to the hit. I knew he was thrown off the half wall. Obviously, if he’s still standing up there’s nothing wrong with that but he ended up falling and reaching for the puck and I’m not sure what happened after that.”
The video footage seems to tell a different story:
Nazem Kadri back to the penalty box for this hit on Tommy Wingels. This one is definitely bad, possibly even supplemental bad. pic.twitter.com/tZ3HI1SBNY
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) April 13, 2018
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was suspended one game for a much more innocent check, the NHL has to ban Kadri for at least one game to maintain consistency.
