Last night, Shane O'Brien received an instigator penalty for coming to the defense of rookie Gabriel Landeskog. Today, Brendan Shanahan finished what O'Brien started by suspending Andy Sutton while he awaits a hearing scheduled for Monday in New York at 10 am. Immediately following the game, Sutton remarked on the hit, saying, "They may look at it, they might not. I'd do (that play) again."
Sutton can't play until after the hearing, meaning he won't be available Sunday when the Oilers face the St. Louis Blues, and the fact that the hearing is in-person indicates that this likely won't be the only game he misses: Shanahan now has the option to issue a suspension that exceeds five games.
Is Shanahan planning to throw the book at Sutton?
The fact that Landeskog stayed in the game works in Sutton's favour, but Shanahan has made no secret of his feelings towards repeat offenders, and Sutton is one, having been suspended for two games in Jan 2010 after a hit on Pascal Dupuis.
UPDATE: Because of all the chatter about Sutton's height and claims that he didn't get his elbow up, I did some screen shots. Pretty obvious if you ask me.
