Brad Marchand's appeal was all for naught. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Friday evening that he has decided to uphold Marchand's six-game suspension for roughing and high-sticking Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry last week.
Marchand's appeal was heard during a hearing Wednesday afternoon in New York. He has already served four games of the suspension. He will miss Saturday's game in Ottawa and Monday's game against Colorado, and will be eligible to return Thursday in Seattle.
In Bettman's complete ruling, which can be found here, he writes that Marchand did not attempt to defend his actions during the appeal hearing and acknowledged that what he did was "stupid." Marchand made similar comments to reporters last week.
Instead, Marchand's appeal centered on the argument that six games was excessive, with his team and the NHLPA citing similar incidents that were not punished so severely (a punch that got two games, a punch that got zero games, and a high-stick that got two games).
Bettman ultimately concludes that Marchand's actions are not directly comparable to any of those incidents, as Marchand has a lengthier history of supplementary discipline -- including another suspension just three months ago -- and none of those other players combined both a punch and a high-stick.
Bettman also notes that Jarry did not do anything to provoke Marchand, with Marchand himself admitting that Jarry did not say anything "out of line or derogatory in any kind of way." Marchand testified that what Jarry said before the punch was, "How about that f—g save?"
"Finally, in reaching my conclusions I have given careful consideration to Mr. Marchand’s testimony concerning his efforts to control his emotions in order to excel as an impact player who plays aggressively, but within the rules," Bettman concludes. "I believe that he has already made significant strides towards achieving this goal. Unfortunately, however, Mr. Marchand’s behavior and lack of judgment in respect of these incidents did not meet acceptable NHL standards.
"He created a distraction which reflected poorly on himself, on his team and on the League as a whole, and as such, I find he also deserves the penalty he received. Having said that, I encourage Mr. Marchand to reflect on this experience and to use it positively in furtherance of his efforts to refine and improve his on-ice image and game for everyone’s benefit."
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