Ridly Greig speaks out as backlash grows over Game 4 incident
Ridly Greig owned it Monday. Sort of. The Senators forward addressed his Game 4 punch on Sean Walker with a short, tight statement.
That was the entire response. The 23-year-old took the question, gave the answer, and walked.
The play happened Saturday in Ottawa's 2-4 loss to Carolina that ended the Senators season. Walker was tied up with Warren Foegele. Greig came over and landed the shot.
The roughing call was the easy part. The optics were not. Hockey writer Mark Lazerus called it the most cowardly punch he had ever seen on the play.
Watch the response clip. Greig delivers the line about emotions and ends the conversation before anyone can follow up with a second question.
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Player Safety could revisit Ridly Greig's hit on Sean Walker
Greig is the kind of player Travis Green has used as an agitator all year. He posted 35 points in 77 games during the regular season and went plus-12 against tough deployment.
That's the value of the role. The cost is the moments where the agitator stops agitating and starts swinging at a guy who can't see him coming.
Walker had a quietly excellent series for Carolina. The 31-year-old defenceman finished plus-4 across the four-game sweep with one assist on a Hurricanes blue line that gave up almost nothing.
He was tangled up with Foegele when the hit landed. .
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Carolina rolled through this round 4-0 under Rod Brind'Amour. The Hurricanes finished the regular season 53-22-7 with 113 points and second overall in the league.
Greig's apology, if you can call it that, lands inside a bigger conversation than just one play. Ottawa is going home for the summer with this image as the lasting one.
The Senators lineup will look different next year. Front office decisions get made on moments like this one. So do reputations.
The summer in Ottawa is going to be loud. The first thing that gets sorted out is whether the league wants a longer conversation with the agitator who couldn't keep his hands down.
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APRIL 27, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Alex Bump | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Connor Dewar | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Elmer Soderblom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Noah Cates | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sidney Crosby | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Blake Lizotte | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Anthony Mantha | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Ristolainen | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Parker Wotherspoon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Noel Acciari | - | - | - | |
| Emil Andrae | - | - | - | |
| Denver Barkey | - | - | - | |
| Yegor Chinakhov | - | - | - | |
| Sean Couturier | - | - | - | |
| Jamie Drysdale | - | - | - | |
| Christian Dvorak | - | - | - | |
| Tyson Foerster | - | - | - | |
| Samuel Girard | - | - | - | |
| Luke Glendening | - | - | - | |
| Garnet Hathaway | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 82 | 55 | 16 | 11 | 121 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Blues | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 86 | |
| Predators | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 86 | |
| Jets | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | |
| Ducks | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Kings | 82 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | |
| Kraken | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| Canucks | 82 | 25 | 49 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||