Rumor: Ryan Reaves will be suspended, but it may not be for very long.

There will no doubt be plenty of controversy stemming from this announcement on the part of the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety and it will likely also remain a major storyline throughout the second round Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Colorado Avalanche and Las Vegas Golden Knights.

On Monday the Department of Player Safety announced that Golden Knights enforcer Ryan Reaves will have a hearing today following an incident on Sunday night during Game 1 of the aforementioned series. Reaves delivered a cross check to Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer and then proceed to go after Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves. Although both those actions crossed the line the announcement from Player Safety indicates that it will be his actions towards Graves that will result in the hearing for what the league has ruled is roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Following the crosscheck on Grubauer, Reaves grabbed Graves and tossed him down to the ice. He would then follow that up by dropping his knee on the head of the Avalanche defenseman and even stuck his hand in his face after the fact, a series of events that drew outrage from both fans and pundits on social media.

Here's the replay:

There were numerous calls for Reaves to be banned outright for the remainder of the series or even the remainder of the playoffs in some cases, but fans who were hoping to see such action will no doubt be sorely disappointed. The fact that this will not be an in person hearing means that the league intends to suspended Reaves for a maximum of five games, as an in person hearing is mandatory in cases where the league is seeking a suspension of six or more games.

No doubt part of what sparked such outrage online following the incident was the fact that Reaves had also been involved in another incident just one game prior during the final game of the Golden Knights' first round series. In that instance it was a blow delivered to the back of Minnesota Wild star defenseman Ryan Suter that also had many fans and even some pundits once again calling for a lengthy suspension to Reaves. In that case no suspension of any kind was issued by the NHL.