Canucks’ Sbisa penalized for rule 48 violation; could supplemental discipline be forthcoming?

Photo Credit: Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luca Sbisa returned to the lineup after an eight-game absence on Wednesday night.

Vancouver’s physical third-pairing defender was obviously eager to make his impact felt in his return, but he may have been a bit too eager. 

Early in the contest, Sbisa hit Jets rookie Nikolaj Ehlers with what the referees ruled was an illegal check to the head. Could Sbisa’s rule 48 violation warrant a call from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety?

Here’s a .gif of the hit in question:

I’m not sure that Sbisa’s hit on Ehlers – as violent as the impact was – meets the definition of an illegal check to the head, frankly. 

It doesn’t appear to me that the head is the primary point of contact, nor did Sbisa target (or “pick”) Ehlers’ cranium. The Danish-born rookie also lowered his body, and by extension his head, immediately prior to contact, which will likely work in Sbisa’s favour if this play gets passed up the chain within the Department of Player Safety.

It would be a minor surprise, I think, if Sbisa faced the wrath of the NHL’s disciplinary wing for this hit, particularly because Ehlers wasn’t hurt on the play – though he missed a few shifts. The only really damning thing about the play, in my view, is that Sbisa’s elbow wasn’t quite as tucked as you’d like. 

We might also note that Sbisa has no supplemental disciplinary record to speak of. 

While I’d bet against Sbisa facing official sanction from the league, he did have to go toe-to-toe with Anthony Peluso in a fight. As you can see in this hockeyfights.com video, it was arguably a harsher punishment than a maximum fine: