Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl broke his silence on a controversial hit he delivered high on Florida Panthers star Aleksander Barkov in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The bulk of the contact seemed to hit Barkov in the chest, but a piece of Draisaitl’s elbow also came up to catch his head. The German power forward was penalized for roughing on the play, while the Panthers’ top centre left the game and didn’t return for the remaining 10 minutes of regulation.
Aleksander Barkov went to the locker room after taking this high hit from Leon Draisaitl#TimeToHunt | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/63VV17p3fS
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) June 11, 2024
After the game, debate raged on whether or not Draisaitl should be suspended for the hit, but no supplemental discipline came out of it. After fears that Barkov suffered a broken jaw or concussion, reports surfaced on Wednesday that he had continued to practice in his regular spot in the Florida lineup and is expected to play in Game 3 later tonight.
Draisaitl commented on the hit at this morning’s media availability.
“First of all, I think we all know that I’m not a player that plays with an intent to injure anybody by any means, I have no track record of that,” Draisaitl said. “I’m not a player that enjoys that part of the game, injuring other players or anything like that.
“I caught him in an unfortunate spot… Can’t stress it enough, I’m not someone who plays the game of hockey wanting to injure anybody.”
Here is Draisaitl commenting on his hit on Barkov in Game 2: #Oilers pic.twitter.com/DWgrvGG6MQ
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) June 13, 2024
A suspension in the Stanley Cup Final would have been some pretty harsh punishment to dole out Draisaitl, who has no prior suspension history through his 719-game NHL career. It also didn’t appear to be a hit that primarily targeted the head of Barkov.
In short, it might be a one-game suspension in the regular season but it isn’t one in the Stanley Cup Final. The fact that Barkov appears to not be missing any time shouldn’t play a role, but that also probably was a deciding factor in the league’s decision to not discipline Draisaitl.
Draisaitl and Barkov will go head-to-head once again as the series shifts to Edmonton for Game 3 tonight.