Gary Bettman announces his decision after Morgan Rielly's appeal hearing

It's been 7 days since Morgan Rielly delivered a cross-check to the head of Ridly Greig. The hit occured after Greig fired a slapshot into the Maple Leafs' empty net. Many have viewed this play as a disrespectful code violation, while other fans have felt this was simply a situation blown out of proportion by the Leafs and their fans.

Earlier this week Rielly received a 5-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety. This suspension however hasn't aligned with punishments given our for similar plays in the past and appeared to ignore important factors taken into account by DoPS in the past. On Wednesday it was announced that Rielly and the NHLPA had filed an appeal of the suspension.

Rielly's hearing was heard in New York City at the NHL's Offices. Given the suspension was limited to just 5 games, the appeal hearing would only be heard by NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman. Rielly arrived to the hearing with multiple members of the Leafs Management and multiple lawyers from the Players Association.


After completing the hearing Bettman took some time to deliberate, but has now reached his decision.



Unfortunately with a decision like this there are always going to be people who are unhappy. There is never a way to please everyone, but the real question is, did the league get it right?