Brendan Lemieux bites Brady Tkachuk
(Photo Credit: Bally Sports)

This has no place in the game of hockey.

Los Angeles Kings’ forward Brendan Lemieux was ejected Saturday for biting the hand of Ottawa Senators’ captain Brady Tkachuk.

The incident unfolded late in the third period with LA up 3-2 on the Sens. Tkachuk and Lemieux ended up getting into it behind the net. The two forwards wrestled each other to the ice and began fighting.

After the refs broke up the scrum, Tkachuk got up claiming Lemieux bit him. “He f**king bit me”, Tkachuk mouths. The refs took notice and went to review the footage. They determined Lemieux bit Tkachuk and kicked him out of the game.

Here’s the full sequence of events:

Here’s video of Tkachuk showing the ref what appears to be bite marks on his hand:

Tkachuk wasn’t happy about the bite in his post-game press conference. The Sens’ captain was furious with Lemieux, calling for the LA Kings’ forward to be removed from the NHL.

“It’s outrageous. Kids don’t even do that anymore. He’s a complete brick head. He’s got nothing up there”, said Tkachuk.

Here’s Tkachuk’s full quote on Lemieux:

“This is the one time I’m going to answer this. It was the most gutless thing somebody could ever do. This guy, you can ask anyone of his teammates, nobody ever wants to play with him, this guy is a bad guy and a bad teammate, he focuses on himself all the time.”

 

“The guy’s just a joke. He shouldn’t be in the league. This guy’s gutless. No other team wants him, he’s going to keep begging to be in the NHL but no other team is going to want him, he’s an absolute joke. I can’t even wrap my head around it. People don’t even do this. He’s just a bad guy.”

 

“It’s outrageous. Kids don’t even do that anymore. Babies do that. I don’t even know what he was thinking, he’s just a complete brick head. He’s got nothing up there. Bad guy, bad player but what a joke he is. “

 

– Brady Tkachuk 

 

It has been a long time since we had a biting incident in the NHL. The last one was back in 2011 when Vancouver Canucks’ forward Alex Burrows Allegedly bit the hand of Bruins’ forward Patrice Bergeron during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Burrows received no suspension.

It’s almost certain Lemieux will be suspended if the NHL finds clear evidence of the bite. There’s a zero tolerance policy for biting in the NHL, especially during these COVID-19 times.

Brendan Lemieux doesn’t have a good reputation with NHL Player Safety. The son of Claude Lemieux has been suspended multiple times in his NHL career. Most recently, Lemieux received a two-game suspension in 2020 for an illegal check that injured Colorado’s Joonas Donskoi.

Claude Lemieux and Keith Tkachuk used to go at it during their playing days, so it’s no surprise their sons went at it Saturday.

Many NHL fanbases love to hate Brady Tkachuk, but they’re all on his side tonight after a disgusting act by Brendan Lemieux. We can only hope the NHL takes the appropriate action and teaches Lemieux a lesson.