Report: Blackhawks' Seabrook will have phone hearing with league for hit on Backes
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook will have to explain his hit on David Backes to NHL head of player safety Stephane Quintal, according to RDS analyst Francois Gagnon.
Sans surprise aucune, Brent Seabrook devra s'expliquer avec Stéphane Quintal (téléphone) pour son geste aux dépens de David Backes #NHL
— Francois Gagnon (@GagnonFrancois) April 19, 2014
Phone hearings can result in a maximum suspension of five games. Seabrook is not a repeat offender.
Seabrook described the hit as "just trying to make a play on Backes" because he thought Backes had the puck. He told reporters there was no intent to injure:
I feel bad seeing a guy like that on the ice. I've been there myself, and I'm not trying to target his head. I'm not trying to do anything like that. It doesn't feel good to see a player like that lying there like that, and knowing that I hit him. It wasn't my intent. I thought it was a hit. It's a physical series, hits have been laid like that from both sides the whole series, so we'll see what happens.