Tyson Barrie suspended 3 games for high hit on Simon Despres

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Simon Despres was placed on injured-reserve early Saturday. The reason he’s on IR is Tyson Barrie of the Colorado Avalanche.

On Friday night, Barrie left his feet to deliver a high hit on Despres that knocked him out of the game. The Department of Player Safety took notice and suspended Barrie for the next three games.

Director of Player Safety, Patrick Burke, explains why Barrie was given the ban:

(Can anyone recall a prior incident where a player’s height was brought into the reasoning for a suspension?)

Despite seeing the officials looking at the play in the suspension video, there was no call for charging or a hit to the head during the game. Despres left the ice after taking the hit and did not return. As a first-time offender, Barrie will fork over $41,935.47 for his three games in time-out. 

There was a big hit at the end of the same game that was penalized. Erik Johnson received two-minutes for boarding Corey Perry. Perry’s face makes contact with linesman on the boards and then his head snaps back as he hits the ice. This did not lead to further discipline from the NHL. 

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.