Dennis Wideman’s suspension for striking a linesman continues to cause a rift around the league.
The Calgary Flames defenseman was initially suspended for 20 games for cross-checking linesman Don Henderson from behind, which sidelined Henderson with a concussion. An independent arbitrator ruled Wideman’s hit wasn’t intentional and reduced the suspension to ten games. NHL officials and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman weren’t happy with the reduction and now the league is suing the NHLPA in an attempt to reinstate the suspension.
As Sportsnet reports, the NHL took issue with the arbitrator’s ruling, filing a lawsuit saying arbitrator James Oldham ignored the findings of Gary Bettman and “applied his own brand of industrial justice” in the suspension. Bill Daly told Yahoo Sports that Oldham “exceeded his contractual authority by failing to properly apply the parties collectively bargained standard of review.”
The NHLPA said in a statement on the suit that the lawsuit is without merit and are confident the courts will agree.
“We are disappointed that the NHL has chosen to challenge the award of the Neutral Discipline Arbitrator (NDA) in court, as the collective bargaining agreement clearly provides that the decision of the NDA is final. We are confident this action is completely without merit and that the court will agree.”
It’s never good to see the league and its players association fight it out in the courts. Bettman and the league believe their findings weren’t considered appropriately in the ruling. The NHLPA believes everything went as it should. It will be interesting to see how this case proceeds and what ruling changes (if any) because to it.
