With the 2022-2023 National Hockey League playoffs in full swing a number of series have experienced what can only be described as questionable hits and within that a disparity from the officiating crews as well as the Department of Player Safety as to where you draw the line between a hockey play and a dangerous situation.
Late in the second period of the Colorado Avalanche game against the Seattle Kraken, Kraken forward Jordan Eberle was assessed a two-minute boarding penalty after hitting Colorado forward Andrew Cogliano; no supplemental discipline occurred.
Earlier in the series, Cale Makar was suspended one game for a hit he laid on Jared McCann, which leads to the following question. What exactly is the role of the Department of Player Safety and what do they look for when investigating incidents? Because Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar would like to know too.
It doesn't appear that the DoPS knows what their job is and although they are tasked on a case-by-case basis, it is evident that they are not able to share with examples what they actually look at to compare