- Senators forward Hayden Hodgson has a Player Safety hearing today for his hit on Brandt Clarke
- Hodgson is facing a suspension after drawing a major and a game misconduct
- Read below for his history, Clarke’s status and what comes next
Hayden Hodgson is headed to a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for his hit on Brandt Clarke.
The league announced Friday that the Senators forward will have his hearing today for boarding and charging the Kings defenseman:
Ottawa Citizen reporter Bruce Garrioch had it first, saying earlier in the morning that Hodgson was expected to get the call and is facing a suspension:
There is no ruling yet, so the length of any suspension is still unknown.
Hodgson was thrown out of Thursday night’s game in Los Angeles at 11:15 of the second period. He charged into the corner at 21 mph, per the broadcast, and drove Clarke into the boards with his left elbow up near the head. He got a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
Clarke slowly got to one knee and skated off, but he did not return. The Kings called it an upper-body injury, and Peter Laviolette had no update on how long he could be out. The 23-year-old has nine points in 12 games and ranks second on the team in scoring.
This is not Hodgson’s first run-in with the rules. He drew a five-game suspension in the AHL in February for an elbow on the Cleveland Monsters on Jan. 31, his fourth suspension as a pro. He also dropped the gloves during the Panthers-Senators brawl on Oct. 21.
The 30-year-old has 51 penalty minutes in 24 NHL games, 24 of them in five games with Ottawa this season. He is on a two-year deal at $850,000, with one year left.
Ottawa is already without Andre Burakovsky, who left the game with an upper-body injury, and the Senators are 0-2 on a five-game road trip. They play in San Jose on Saturday, so the length of Hodgson’s ruling matters right away.
