What was your initial reaction to the incident?
L
ongtime player turned NHL executive: “I didn’t think it was as bad as everyone said it was. I guess maybe because I waited to see it, I blew it up in my own mind. And what was in my mind was a lot worse.”
Former player: “I was going to time how long that entire incident took. You would swear that we had World War V. It’s one of those ‘blink of an eye’ things. And I saw all kinds of bullshit things (on social media).”
NHL team executive: “I’m really surprised on this one. I thought this was an opportunity for the league to make some sort of statement. They’re lucky that Panarin didn’t get seriously hurt there. When was the last suspension in the league? Was it Edler/Hyman, (Vancouver’s
Alex Edler was suspended for two games for kneeing Toronto’s
Zach Hyman) which happened during the course of the game, right? This didn’t even happen during the course of play. That’s an interesting one. That’s a challenge.”
'He’s going to hurt someone and the league knows it': Hockey experts weigh in on the Tom Wilson incident