Unbelievable. A goddamn joke. The Shield lists three reasons why this wasn’t a suspend-able hit:

  1. Rinaldo initiated his hit while Couturier had possession of the puck and was allowed to follow through even though Coots simply touch-passed it
  2. Rinaldo didn’t target the head (HORSEPOOP– more on this in a second)
  3. He didn’t leave his feet in an excessive manner

Number two, which, coincidentally, is what this decision is– doo. How this is not targeting the head I will never understand. Somehow, because Rinaldo kept his elbow tucked to his body and his feet within a reasonable distance of the ice, the contact with the head was incidental. No. That’s an avoidable hit. Rinaldo had ample time to see that Couturier had gotten rid of the puck and pull up to some degree. There was no check here to even finish. Couturier had long disbanded with the puck, and just because Rinaldo casts 30 feet into opposing players doesn’t mean he should be allowed to finish the check once he initiates the hit. He’s always initiating a hit. If this were the standard, Rinaldo would never be suspended, because the minute he steps on the ice he’s in the process of initiating a hit. He’s a goon. A waste. A useless throwback to hockey yesteryear when thuggery was championed. And the bit about Rinaldo having a history but it not coming into play because the hit itself wasn’t illegal is nonsense. It should be the first thing that gets considered. Absolute BS.