It’s expected that the NHL’s Department of Player Safety will do what they can to get calls right to protect the players. More and more in recent years under the unwatchful eye of George Parros, that feels less true, and the Department of Player Safety’s farcical rulings regarding Tyler Myers and Dillon Dubé continue to reinforce that.
With three minutes left to play in a blowout game on January 21, Myers skated to engage Joel Armia, and with the Habs winger’s head down, Myers threw a blindside hit to the head that left Armia with a concussion. What might have saved Armia even slightly is that he could see Myers coming, and pulled back slightly, but Myers still throws the hit, even leaving his feet for a moment to drive upward with his shoulder.