It's been more than six weeks since Dennis Wideman cross-checked linesman Don Henderson, and the situation continues to intensify after an arbitrator recently made a decision to reduce the defenseman's suspension from 20 games to 10.
While Wideman was thankful for the sentence reduction, the NHL Officials' Association isn't happy with the decision, releasing the following statement Saturday:
The NHLOA strongly disagrees with the arbitrator's decision to reduce Dennis Wideman's suspension to 10 games while linesman Don Henderson continues to recover from an injury inflicted by the player that will sideline him for the rest of the season. The message in reducing the suspension that is sent to NHL players, as well as athletes all over the world, including children, is that hte code of conduct towards officials has changed.
The NHLOA intends to take all steps necessary so that its members are protected in the future and ensure that this type of conduct by a player against an official never happens again.
Both Henderson and Wideman, who was hit by an opposing player moments before he collided with the official, suffered concussions during the incident.
The Calgary Flames defender returned to the lineup Friday against the Arizona Coyotes, playing 18 minutes in a 4-1 loss.
