Even though Brendan Gallagher was his teammate on the Montreal Canadiens, PK Subban didn't hesitate to condemn the forward's gesture during Thursday night's game against the New York Islanders.
The former defenseman, who is now an analyst for the ESPN network, expressed his opinion on the violent elbow blow that Gallagher delivered to defenseman Adam Pelech. Although he “hates to say it, this deserves a suspension,” he wrote on social media.
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“I don't know how to talk about this move, but in my opinion it's the kind of move you don't want to see. This is inexcusable. It’s no use,” Subban said in a short video.
“It's a great game, everything is going well and this game is successful,” he continued. It's not a hockey game. This is not a corner collision. It's not a fight for the puck. There's a guy controlling the puck in the middle of the ice and Gallagher elbows him in the chin.
The National Hockey League's player safety department announced Friday morning that the CH member would have to explain himself at a telephone hearing later in the day. Since this is not a personal meeting, a suspension of less than five games is to be expected.
Subban called for a five-game penalty, as he did for Boston Bruins guard Charlie McAvoy earlier in the season. The latter received a penalty of four tackles for a check on the head of Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
“Gallagher is an old teammate, I played with him, but I have to be consistent. […] “I don’t want there to be such a setback and for player security to have to take tough action,” he assured.
The two men played together in Montreal for four seasons between 2012 and 2016.