Compare Videos: Auston Matthews 2-Game vs. Perron 6-Game Suspension

The question isn’t whether Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron deserves a suspension. He most certainly does. The question now is whether his six-game suspension is fair based on the previous NHL Department of Player Safety precedent.

The Red Wings and Perron were surprised at the length of the suspension.

It has been widely speculated that the NHL Players Association will appeal the length of the suspension on Perron’s behalf. There’s been no official confirmation of that.

Commissioner Gary Bettman will hear the first appeal. But because the suspension is six or more games, the NHLPA can take it to an independent arbitrator if it is dissatisfied with Bettman’s ruling.

Yesterday, media and fans began comparing Perron’s act against Artem Zub with Auston Matthews‘ crosscheck to Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin’s face that earned him a two-game suspension.

Here is the Matthews video:

The NHL’s Kangaroo Court suspended 2 games for this but David Perron banned 6 games. pic.twitter.com/eh4glFG2Mr

— Allan Walsh🏒 (@walsha) December 12, 2023

Here is the Perron assault on Zub:

Detroit’s David Perron has been suspended for six games for cross-checking Ottawa’s Artem Zub. https://t.co/6ehi2C4eZD

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) December 12, 2023

The Department of Player Safety explained its rationale on the video.

Perron:  No Previous Suspensions

The main difference between situations is that Matthews and Dahlin are in a confrontation when Matthews escalates it with his crosscheck to the face. In the Perron attack, there is no conflict between Perron and Zub. He was reacting to seeing his captain Dylan Larkin unconscious on the ice. Perron incorrectly believed Zub was involved in what happened to Larkin.  Zub barely had time to see Perron coming after him.

As the video points out, Perron has played 1,081 games and only had one other supplemental discipline episode. The NHL fined him for that incident. It was also a retaliation play.

Perron’s agent Allan Walsh said this on social media about his suspension: “There have been other incidents of players violently cross checking opposing players in the face. Teeth flying, concussion, blood gushing. 2 or 3 games. Here there was NO INJURY, the concussion spotter didn’t even remove the player from the game. ”

The Parros Kangaroo Court suspended here for 3 games. David Perron, 1100 NHL games played without a suspension was banned for 6. No transparency, no consistency, arbitrary, capricious. Farce! pic.twitter.com/XmFJa4IjhY

— Allan Walsh🏒 (@walsha) December 12, 2023