He intended to apply force, and the action he choose was sufficient that there is a possibility of injury, so 20 games is possible. He may have been dazed enough to think it was a Nashville player, so maybe only 10. But that is not his post game excuse...he says he did not see him, could not avoid him. If he could not see the linesman, how would he know to try to avoid? Or know to put his hands up? He saw the linesman. But by saying he could not avoid, it implies he knew t was an official, not a player, and his arms going up and crosschecking with that much force show clear intent to apply sufficient force to cause injury. So I conclude 20 games (the minimum). Which means absolutely nothing. Good Canadian boy, playing for a Canadian team...he will get every benefit of the doubt. Too be fair, he is generally not a dirty player anyhow.
But if he was so dazed that he could not see the linesman, or recognize him, what about concussion protocol? Hell, head first into the boards, he should have been pulled aside anyhow. Calgary staff may need to be questioned on that one. Not that they are the only ones that skirt the rules on that kind of thing.
