Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon has been suspended three games for an illegal check to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Noel Acciari.
The illegal hit came four minutes into the second period of Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh. Acciari carried the puck through the neutral zone along the left wing boards. Dillon stepped into the Pens winger at the blue line, delivering a hard hit to Acciari’s head.
Dillon was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head by referees Jake Brenk and Francis Charron, who confirmed their call via video review.
From Rule 48:
A hit resulting in contact with an opponent’s head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. In determining whether contact with an opponent’s head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:
(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not “picked” as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.
(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.
(iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact.
This hit met the criteria. While Acciari was bent forward, he did not materially change the position of his body just prior to contact. As we discussed on the Scouting the Refs Podcast, he onus is on Dillon here to deliver a legal hit.
“Dillon chooses an angle of approach that cuts across the front of Acciari’s body, missing his core and picking his head,” the NHL’s Department of Player Safety said in their ruling. “If Dillon wants to deliver this hit, he must choose an angle that hits through Acciari’s shoulder and core, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact.”
Acciari was injured on the play; he left the game and did not return.
“He’s doing okay but being evaluated right now,” Pens coach Mike Sullivan said of Acciari. “Our major concern is Noel and his health.”
This is Dillon’s second suspension. He was previously suspended one game for slashing back in 2017 during his time with the San Jose Sharks..
Dillion forfeits $60,938 in salary as a result of the suspension. He’ll miss the Jets’ upcoming games against the Flyers, Penguins, and Sharks; he’s eligible to return to the Winnipeg lineup when they visit the Canucks on February 17.
In a video, the league explained the length of the ban and said head contact was avoidable. While the 5-foot-10 Acciari was bent forward, the league determined he did not change the placement of his head in the seconds prior to the hit from Dillon, who’s 6-foot-4.
