Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly will have an in-person hearing with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday for his suspension appeal, Sportsnet can confirm.
The hearing will be held at noon ET.
Rielly received a five-game suspension on Tuesday for his cross-check on Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig on Saturday. He appealed the ruling by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Wednesday via the NHL Players’ Association.
After Greig fired a slapshot into the Maple Leafs’ empty net to seal a 5-3 win for the Senators, Rielly took exception to the play and went after Greig with a cross-check up high.
Rielly, 29, has 43 points (seven goals and 36 assists) in 50 games this season. The suspension marked his first over an 11-year NHL career.
The commissioner is known to usually uphold suspensions.
“I think it’s a long shot,” Elliotte Friedman said on the Jeff Marek Show on Thursday. “I think it’s very unlikely. This just says to me that Rielly’s really mad and he wants to take his chance.”