The Swiss League has suspended HC Davos forward Brendan Lemieux four games for punching linesman Dominik Altmann. Lemiuex was initially banned for one game during an official league review that saw them tack on three additional games.
The official moved in to break up a scuffle between Lemieux and Chris Baltisberger of the ZSC Lions during a playoff game. Lemieux, intending to punch Baltisberger, instead caught Altmann in the jaw.
The linesman left the game for medical treatment; he was replaced by standby linesman Dominik Schlagel.
“It was just a scrum in front of the net. Unfortunately, the linesman’s head came between us. I hit him — not hard, but hard enough,” Lemieux said, per Blick, via translation. “Nobody wants to see that. The refs are just doing their job. It was just an unfortunate position, but sometimes it happens.”
Lemieux will sit for the remainder of their playoff series with only three possible games to go, as Davos and Zurich are tied at 2-2 in the best-of-seven series. Should Davos advance, he’ll serve out any remaining time in the next round.
He’ll also have to pay a fine of 6500 Swiss Francs, which equates to approximately $7,500 USD.
Lemieux played 307 games in the National Hockey League with the Jets, Rangers, Kings, Flyers, and Hurricanes, picking up 36 goals, 38 assists, 548 penalty minutes, one fine, and three suspensions – including a five gamer for biting the Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk.
He started the 2024-25 season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves before heading to Europe to join HC Davos. In 18 games across the regular season and playoffs, Lemieux has no goals, one assist, 36 penalty minutes, and now a four game suspension. He has two more seasons left on his contract.
