In case you missed it last night, Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans was stretchered off the ice after receiving an absolutely devastating body check from Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele.
Scheifele was assessed a five minute major penalty for charging and a game misconduct. He's also facing a potential suspension after NHL Player Safety scheduled a hearing with him set for later this afternoon.
And now, perhaps inspired by a Leafs fan who burned his Doug Gilmour jersey yesterday, a fan has offered up his Scheifele jersey as a bit of a campfire sacrifice.
Check it out:
I... I just don't get it...
How does burning a jersey help matters? Does it help you sleep better at night? Why not just take your $279 and light in on fire instead of giving it to the NHL first? Seems so stupid and childish to me.
In any case, Scheifele is likely looking at at least a game or two suspension as a result of his careless hit. And I think that careless is the perfect word to describe it. I don't think the Scheifele is the type of guy who goes out of his way to injure players, but his hit last night was clearly over the line. He saw a player in a vulnerable position, he was frustrated and he made the split second decision to absolutely separate Evans from his senses. If he doesn't come from so far away (charging) and he at least attempts to make a play on the puck, I actually have no problem with Scheifele's hit. The fact of the matter is that Evans puts himself in a terrible spot. The onus on safety cannot be placed solely on one player, but that's my opinion.
What makes the hit suspension worthy isn't the hit itself, it's the fact that Scheifele clearly charges Evans in an effort to blow him up. If he lays up a bit and throws a legal hit, Evans likely just bounces off him and is no worse for wear. But when you combine the fact that Scheifele was on a mission starting from the neutral zone and the fact that Evans has no situational awareness, well... you get an ugly situation like we witnessed last night.
