Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky spoke about his suspension and the hit that caused it at a media availability after practice on Monday morning.
The No. 1 overall pick from this year’s draft was suspended for two games for a hit on Detroit Red Wings forward Matt Luff during a 3-2 victory last week. He’s set to return for Tuesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
Slafkovsky claimed that he was watching the puck during the incident that sent an unassuming Luff into the boards. He received a game misconduct penalty and a two-game suspension because of the hit.
He also stated that he reached out to Luff, apologizing for the hit and that Luff replied, thanking him for the apology.
"Basically I didn't have that much speed, I was slowing down. As you can see I wasn't even skating that much," said Slafkovsky when speaking about his hearing with the NHL. "It's always tough when you're 50lbs heavier and you don't even try so hard but things like that happen."
After the game against the Canadiens, Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde reported that Luff will have to undergo wrist surgery due to the hit, effectively sidelining the forward for 10 to 12 weeks.
The Canadiens forward mentioned that his family was in Montreal for the weekend game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, however, they weren’t able to see him play due to the suspension. He said he hopes to be in the lineup tomorrow against the Devils so that his Mom will get to see him play.
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