Is the NHL trying to rob Leafs forward Jason Spezza of the opportunity to have suspension reduced?
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza finally has a date set for his appeal to the 6-game suspension he was issued this week for kneeing Winnipeg Jets forward Neal Pionk on Sunday in Winnipeg.
According to the Toronto Sun's Lance Hornby, Spezza's hearing with the league is scheduled to take place on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 14th. By that point, Spezza will have already served 3 games of the 6 that he had been suspended for.
The Leafs also play the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, so even if Spezza's suspension is reduced to 3 games, it doesn't appear likely that he'll be able to play against the Oilers.
If Spezza loses the appeal, he will then have the ability to appeal to an independent arbitrator. It may be all for not, as the 6th game of Spezza's suspension will occur on Saturday, December 18th against the Vancouver Canucks.
The veteran forward may run out of runway to complete both stages of the appeal process, which, in my opinion, is absolutely not fair to the player. What is the point in having an appeal process when you don't prioritize having the hearings take place with enough time to actually have the suspension reduced?
Shady operation by the NHL here, if you ask me.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Josh Doan | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ryan McLeod | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Zach Benson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Bowen Byram | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kirby Dach | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Greenway | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jansen Harkins | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Beckett Sennecke | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mark Stone | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Chris Kreider | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan Poehling | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Troy Terry | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Shea Theodore | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||