NEW YORK — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman upheld Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman’s 20-game suspension for cross-checking a linesman.
The NHL announced the appeal decision Wednesday.
Wideman met with Bettman at a hearing in New York last week after the player appealed the suspension handed down Feb. 3 by NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.
Wideman knocked down linesman Don Henderson during the Flames’ game against Nashville on Jan. 27. The suspension is the second-longest in NHL history for abusing an official.
“I do not see a basis for a lesser penalty, particularly given the severity of the conduct involved,” Bettman wrote in the decision. “On the other hand, I have the authority to impose a more substantial suspension, and I am troubled by Mr. Wideman’s total failure to accept any responsibility for his actions.
“Indeed, although he made much at the hearing about the apologies he had already made to Mr. Henderson, the sincerity of those apologies rings somewhat hollow given the text message he sent to a teammate on Feb. 2 — after the conclusion of the hearing before Mr. Campbell [—] that ‘the only problem and the only reason I’m here is cause the stupid refs and stupid media.’
“Nevertheless, in light of Mr. Wideman’s prior exemplary disciplinary record, I decline to increase the suspension imposed by Mr. Campbell.”
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