Calgary Flames’ Andersson suspended four games for hit on Blue Jackets’ Laine

Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson has been suspended four games for his hit on Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine, according to the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Saturday.

The Flame will lose around $95,000 in pay, which will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

In the video explaining the suspension on Saturday, the NHL said the force of the hit on Friday night and the fact the game was out of reach at the time “combined to elevate this hit to the level of supplemental discipline.”

“As Laine sends the puck down the ice towards the empty net, Andersson launches upward into Laine, elevating unnecessarily and making significant contact to Laine’s head with his elbow, causing an injury. This is charging,” the Department of Player Safety said.

The NHL says while Laine was low while sending the puck down the ice, his “sudden movement” of dropping low doesn’t excuse Andersson from hitting from a high place.

Andersson was assessed a match penalty after he caught Laine up high with a hit in the dying seconds of Friday’s game as the Blue Jackets forward tried to score on an empty net. Laine was slow to get up.

After the game, which Columbus won 3-1, Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent said the hit from Andersson was definitely late and should hopefully lead to future discipline from the league.

Laine did not travel with the team and will not play in Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. The team announced he will continue to be evaluated and is considered day-to-day.

“I see a hit to the head and (Andersson) lifting his feet,” Vincent said after the game. “I saw the replay. That’s illegal in my book. So we’ll let the NHL deal with it.”

Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames are planning to appeal the four-game suspension, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports.

It is rare to see an NHL player appeal a suspension in part because of how long the process takes. Jason Spezza appealed a six-game suspension handed down to him back on Dec. 7 2021, getting it reduced to four games on Dec. 17 2021 by commissioner Gary Bettman.

-With files from The Canadian Press