National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman has upheld the six-game suspension doled out to Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron by the league’s Department of Player Safety.
Perron, 35, will play his first game back with the Red Wings on Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers after serving the suspension in full over the last two weeks.
As Daily Faceoff ‘s Frank Seravalli noted on Friday, Perron still has the option to pursue a second appeal with a neutral arbitrator, who could reduce the now-elapsed suspension and restore Perron’s forfeited pay for some of the six games he missed.
Perron was initially suspended back on December 11 as a consequence of an incident during the game between the Red Wings and Ottawa Senators on December 9.
The veteran winger, who is in his second season with the Red Wings, attacked Senators defenseman Artem Zub with a high cross-check after Senators forward Mathieu Joseph injured Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin with a blow to the head area.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Perron said he understood why the league punished him but criticized the length of his suspension.
“Obviously, I got the guy a little high,” Perron said. “I understand that there was some discipline that needed to be done there. It just felt like on my side, it was pretty excessive for the comparables, the history, my career — a lot of things really.”
Perron has collected seven goals and 13 points in 26 games with the Red Wings this season. Last year, he finished second to Larkin with 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 82 contests.
The Red Wings signed Perron to a two-year, $4.75 million AAV deal back in the 2022 offseason. The Sherbrooke, Quebec product is a pending UFA who has scored 734 points in 1,081 career NHL games with the Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, and Edmonton Oilers.
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