Ducks’ J.F. Jacques gets five-game suspension
The Ducks joined the rapidly growing list of teams testing the early resolve of the NHL’s new discipline czar, Brendan Shanahan.
Shanahan, the league’s senior vice president of player safety, on Tuesday suspended Ducks winger J.F. Jacques for the remainder of the preseason and five regular-season games as a result of the incident with Canucks forward Mike Duco on Saturday at Vancouver.
Though Jacques left the bench on a legal line change late in the third period, it was noted he went straight to Duco to start a fight, making no effort to join the play.
Said Ducks General Manager Bob Murray: “We certainly understand and support what the league is doing with regards to discipline and we accept this suspension. We do want our players defending each other. I think that was J.F.’s intent. However, he went about it the wrong way. So we accept this and move on.”
Shanahan, who took over from Colin Campbell in the off-season, has issued six suspensions during the preseason. Only two had been assessed the previous preseason.
Jacques already has missed one game because instigation of the altercation came in the game’s last five minutes, an automatic suspension. The Ducks have three exhibition games remaining.
The former Oiler loses $17,567.55 in salary and will be eligible to return Oct. 21 against Dallas.
Simmonds-Avery case
Campbell, meanwhile, determined that there would be no disciplinary action in the Wayne Simmonds-Sean Avery matter, citing “conflicting accounts of what transpired on the ice.”
There were allegations by the Rangers’ Avery that the Flyers’ Simmonds directed a homophobic slur at him in their exhibition game Monday night.
“Specifically, Flyers player Wayne Simmonds has expressly denied using the homophobic slur he is alleged to have said,” said Campbell, the league’s senior executive vice president of hockey operations. “Additionally, none of the on-ice officials close to the altercation in question heard any inappropriate slur uttered by either of the primary antagonists.”
He added that the league reserved the right to “revisit the matter” if conclusive information became available.
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