Report: Benning to Appeal Derek Dorsett Instigator Penalty from Canucks Loss in Anaheim

According to The Province’s Ben Kuzma, Canucks general manager Jim Benning has met the 48-hour window to appeal Derek Dorsett’s instigator penalty from Thursday night’s 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

In the third period of the Canucks Thursday night loss to the Ducks, Dorsett left the Canucks bench and went immediately for Ducks defenceman Josh Manson who’d attempted to hit Bo Horvat on the same shift. The referee served Dorsett with 17 penalty minutes on the play, including five for fighting, a ten-minute misconduct and two-minutes for instigating.

Dorsett drew his first minor penalty for instigating in an October 17th win over the Ottawa Senators. As Kuzma alludes to in his tweet, one more instigating penalty and the league will automatically assess a two-game suspension to Dorsett. Given his role and the rate at which he’s accrued that type of penalty thus far, it’s not an unrealistic scenario.

The NHL’s (dysfunctional) website outlines this scenario in their Department of Player Safety FAQ page.

Since Benning has appealed the ruling on that penalty within the 48-hour window provided under the league’s rulebook, he’ll have the opportunity to have the NHL rescind Dorsett’s two-minute minor for instigating. If Benning is successful, that will leave Dorsett with a two-instigating penalty cushion before the league suspends him.