“I’m sure the league is going to take a look at it,” said a grumbling Jake Guentzel after Friday’s game against the Florida Panthers, hoping that the NHL would crack down on Matthew Tkachuk. Well, turns out, they didn’t. The Cats’ forward has been at the center of a lot of controversies since Game 3 between the arch rivals, but ended up being able to breathe a sigh of relief. While the incident did stir the pot a lot, some NHL experts believe that the final verdict on the matter wasn’t surprising.
Tkachuk loves himself a fair bit of scrum, as if we didn’t know it by now. Moreover, with injuries rendering him unable to play since February’s 4-Nations Face-Off, Matthew could hardly wait to feel the thrill. And he did, only a bit too much for his own good. After the Florida captain, Aleksander Barkov, took a major hit by the Bolts’ Brandon Hagel in Game 2, the Panthers forward was on the lookout for revenge in the next game. He did. And got Tampa Bay fans clamoring for disciplinary action against him. But their calls for Chucky’s head went in vain, but David Pagnotta knew this was coming.
Brandon Hagel was handed a one-match suspension by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after he took down Barkov at the Amalie Arena last Thursday. Naturally, with Guentzel having to pay for it at the next day’s match, Tampa Bay fans wanted to see Tkachuk being served with a similar suspension. However, that didn’t happen. The NHL Network analyst, Pagnotta, took to X on April 27 to elaborate on why Matthew Tkachuk didn’t share the same fate as the Bolts’ Hagel.
“While the hit was late, Guentzel played the puck prior – and there was no head contact,” Pagnotta’s social media post notes why Matthew’s hit on Guentzel wasn’t anything close to what Hagel did to the Cats’ captain. The Tampa Bay star came into Barkov from behind, even though the latter didn’t even play the puck. “Puck was absolutely no where to be found,” the commentators could be heard affirming that Barkov shouldn’t have been the target. On the other hand, while Tkachuk’s hit on Guentzel was late, the latter did release the puck just seconds before the collision.
While the hit was late, Guentzel played the puck prior – and there was no head contact. On the Hagel hit on Barkov, Barkov never played the puck. It’s my understanding these are the major factors by the DOPS and why there’s no hearing for Tkachuk.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) April 27, 2025
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