The NHL Department of Player Safety handed Dante Fabbro a two-game suspension as a result of his elbow to the head of Carolina Hurricanes forward Brock McGinn Tuesday night.
Nashville’s Dante Fabbro has been suspended for two games for Elbowing Carolina’s Brock McGinn. https://t.co/4u54AEqrbw
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 10, 2021
Fabbro, who had no prior history of dangerous hits, made contact with McGinn in the second period. Initial contact was between Fabbro’s elbow and McGinn’s head. McGinn was able to complete the game and, thankfully, doesn’t seem to be in concussion protocol, nor showing any other signs of injury.
While concussions may not be immediately apparent, here’s hoping this is a good sign for McGinn’s health. Also, since McGinn does seem to be all right, it’s clear that the Department of Player Safety made this decision based solely on Fabbro’s actions. Using the question of whether there is injury on a hit to determine discipline has been a long-time frustration of fans on both sides of the question, whether outraged that a dirty hit wasn’t punished because the victim got lucky or outraged that a borderline hit was punished because the victim got hurt. If DoPS keeps this standard up, that’s good for the game and the players.
Fabbro will serve his suspension Thursday against the Hurricanes and Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He will be eligible to return to action on Monday against Tampa Bay.