Ducks’ Corey Perry suspended four games
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Ducks right wing Corey Perry will be contributing $114,516.12 to the NHL Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund, the amount of money he would have made over the next four games if he hadn’t been suspended by the NHL for elbowing Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux in the head during the third period of the Ducks’ 5-4 shootout loss Friday.
Four games seems a lot both for what he did and for a first-time encounter with the NHL’s supplementary discipline system, but blows to the head must be minimized or eliminated. The key is for the NHL to remain consistent on this, and it rarely is.
The Ducks have long been consistent in their lack of discipline and tendency toward self-destruction. They used to be deep enough to overcome bad penalties and Chris Pronger‘s lack of impulse control, but they can’t get by anymore.
With the Ducks already missing defensemen Francois Beauchemin (knee surgery) and Kent Huskins (broken foot) and winger Teemu Selanne (lacerated thigh), the last thing they need is to lose another top-tier player. It’s only worse that it’s because of a lack of self-control.
Perry will miss Sunday’s home game against Phoenix, the home-and-home series with the Kings and a home game against Tampa Bay next Friday. He’s eligible to return Jan. 11 against New Jersey.
Left wing Drew Miller was recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League to replace Perry in the lineup.
-- Helene Elliott