Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty has been suspended, without pay, for three games for delivering an illegal hit to the head of Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang during NHL Game #331 Saturday night in Montreal, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Pacioretty will forfeit $26,351.34. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident occurred at 16:46 of the third period. Letang suffered a broken nose as a result of the hit. No penalty was assessed on the play.
Pacioretty will miss games Nov. 30 at Anaheim, Dec. 1 at San Jose and Dec. 3 at Los Angeles. He will be eligible to return Dec. 6 vs. Columbus.
For a full explanation of the decision, complete with video, please click on the following link: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=60&id=138334
