NHL suspends Jets' Logan Stanley in wake of Brady Tkachuk sucker-punch incident

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley is being suspended one game for roughing committed against Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. The decision proves to be Stanley’s first supplemental discipline in the NHL.

The incident in question occurred away from the play, near the Senators’ bench. Stanley and Tkachuk were engaged with one another, and Tkachuk ended up losing his helmet in the process. After shoving Stanley, Tkachuk grabbed onto his stick, after which Stanley dropped his gloves and delivered a punch to Tkachuk’s face. In that moment, Tkachuk did not appear to be looking at Stanley when Stanley delivered the punch.

An imposing force at 6-foot-7, the defenseman has really leaned into physicality to make an impact at the highest level. He has already surpassed his career high in penalty minutes, at 82, in just 40 games this season. Stanley will have to miss Tuesday’s home tilt against Vegas, but he figures to return Thursday as Winnipeg hosts Edmonton in step two of a five-game homestand.

The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie wrote that the Senators were left “outraged” by the incident and its aftermath, and head coach Travis Green spoke on it after the game, saying: “You never like to see a guy get suckered in the face. It’s unfortunate, we’re lucky he came back. He’s an All-Star player. I’m sure their team wouldn’t be happy if (Kyle) Connor got suckered in the face and there was just a two-minute minor for roughing called.”

Tkachuk managed to finish the game and registered an assist, beating the Jets by a score of 4-2 and handing Winnipeg its ninth straight loss. Based on this announcement from the Department of Player Safety, it appears the Jets will be forced to try to end their losing streak without Stanley.

Stanley, 27, skated on the Jets’ third pairing last night. He’s been Winnipeg’s No. 5 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, averaging 16:09 per game with only sporadic usage on special teams. He has seven goals and 13 points in 40 games this season and is playing out the final year of a two-year, $1.25M AAV contract. Barring an extension, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.