The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) announced Wednesday that Halifax Moosehads forward and Nashville Predators prospect Zachary L’Heureux has been suspended for 10 games for making contact with a fan in last Wednesday’s game against the Gatineau Olympiques. This is his ninth suspension in his major junior career.
Last week, the QMJHL announced that he would be suspended indefinitely.
QMJHL Director of Player Safety Eric Chouinard spoke on the altercation and the decision behind suspending L’Heureux: “As demonstrated in the new video footage obtained by the League, the player’s gesture which occurred following the game simply cannot be tolerated by the QMJHL. Moreover, since the player has been suspended on several occasions, he is considered as a repeat offender.”
Chouinard consulted with the advisory committee for disciplinary action, and based upon L’Heureux’s history, they felt a longer suspension was needed. Mooseheads former advisory board member Alex Joseph condemned the actions.
“The fans, they pay to get in but they don’t pay to make contact to a player, but once that happens, the players got to be cool and just go to the box,” he said.
Joseph reiterated that this type of action is not allowed and the QMJHL would be strict with the suspension: “If you’ve got a history in which unfortunately this player does have a lot of history of suspensions, they’re going to set precedent and that could be three, six or 12. It’s tough where this goes but they are going to go tough on it.”
L’Heureux was a first-round (27th overall) selection by the Predators in the 2021 NHL Draft. The Montreal native has 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists) in 24 games this season. L’Heureux is eligible to return to the lineup on Thursday, March 9 against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The Mooseheads sit second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 36-8-4-3.
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