- Ridly Greig will have a Player Safety hearing for his punch on Sean Walker
- Phone format caps any potential suspension at a maximum of five games
- Read below for the announcement, the play, and how a suspension would roll into next season
The NHL is finally going to look at Ridly Greig.
Ottawa’s forward will have a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety for roughing Carolina defenseman Sean Walker during Saturday’s 4-2 loss in Game 4. The league dropped the news on Sunday with the date and time still to be determined.
Here’s the announcement:
The punch happened at 9:50 of the second period. Walker was bent over and tied up with Warren Foegele in a center-ice scrum when Greig waded in, glanced over his shoulder for an official, then loaded up an uppercut that landed flush. Walker had nowhere to go. Officials missed it completely and Greig stayed out of the box.
Sportsnet’s clip captured the chaos:
Reaction was loud and one-sided. TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette called it a five-gamer on the broadcast and added on X that Greig “should be gone.” Sportsnet’s Mark Lazerus said he had never seen a more cowardly punch. Plenty of fans wanted the league to step in right after the cheap shot.
Now the format matters. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported the hearing will be done by phone, capping any suspension at five games under the CBA:
That ceiling cuts both ways. Plenty of analysts thought Greig’s actions warranted more, but the phone format takes anything bigger off the table. Ottawa is already eliminated, so any suspension would also carry into the start of the 2026-27 regular season. Carolina completed the sweep with Saturday’s win.
Walker tried to settle it on his own before the league got involved. A few minutes after the punch, he ran Greig from behind into the boards and took a two-minute boarding minor for it.
Sunday’s hearing announcement gives Player Safety a clean shot at a player who slipped through the officiating crew. A decision is expected this week.
