Montreal Canadiens defenseman PK Subban (BridgetDS)
The NHL’s Dean of Discipline, Stephane Quintal, recently joined Ron Fournier’s radio show to talk hockey. He hit on a few topics, including the decision-making process, the lack of suspension for Montreal defenseman Alexei Emelin’s hit on Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza, and – most interestingly – PK Subban’s tendency to slew-foot opponents.
Quintal shared that he’s spoken with Subban to warn him about slew-footing opponents, and advised that his predecessor, Brendan Shanahan, had done the same.
There have already been two suspensions this season for slew-footing, one to Dallas Stars winger Ryan Garbutt and the other to Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins.
The NHL defines slew-footing as “the act of a player using his leg or foot to knock or kick an opponent’s feet from under him, or pushes an opponent’s upper body backward with an arm or elbow, and at the same time with a forward motion of his leg, knocks or kicks the opponent’s feet from under him, causing him to fall violently to the ice.” This infraction carries a mandatory match penalty when called.
Of course, Subban probably knows that already:
Next time he tries it, he can expect a more formal call from the Department of Player Safety, along with a few days off.
