Toronto’s Alexander Kerfoot has been suspended for two games for Boarding Colorado’s Erik Johnson. ow.ly/lf9I30pWib5
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Kerfoot suspended for 2 games
Photo credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
By Jon Steitzer
Nov 25, 2019, 13:13 EST
Well, pretty much as soon as the hit happened it seemed like this was inevitable, but now it’s official:
It’s not too hard to see why that’s a suspension, and any arguments against it being a suspension are just through looking at the countless similar hits that regularly slip through the cracks. Sometimes players get away with things they should, that doesn’t mean that this wasn’t a justifiable suspension on Kerfoot, it absolutely is.
Bad hit from Alexander Kerfoot. Looked concerned for Erik Johnson afterwards #Leafs x #LeafsForever
See? Not ideal, and two games keeps Kerfoot out of Wednesday (@DET) & Friday’s (@BUF) games, returning on Saturday night when the Leafs return home to play against Buffalo.
As for how the Leafs backfill Kerfoot, well, they already have the bodies on the team to do so, and it likely means that Timashov or Shore play in on the 4th line with either Petan or Engvall moving up in the lineup, and at this point the case can be made that newly promoted Marlie Pierre Engvall is the right call.
#Leafs lines at practice: Johnsson-Matthews-Nylander Mikheyev-Tavares-Hyman Kerfoot-Spezza-Kapanen Engvall-Gauthier-Petan Shore, Timashov Marincin (placeholding for Rielly)-Ceci Muzzin-Holl Dermott-Barrie Andersen Kaskisuo
As for Kerfoot, it’s not surprising that he’s a little remorseful about doing this to a former teammate, and if you had to bet on one of Barrie, Kerfoot, or Kadri to get suspended in the Avs/Leafs game, you probably had your money on Kadri.
Alex Kerfoot on two-game suspension: “First and foremost, I think I'm disappointed in myself. It was obviously a bad play. I know Johnson well and I just hope he's alright, I hope that he doesn't miss any time or anything like that. I feel terrible.”
Thankfully the Wednesday game against Detroit is forgiving of the depleted Leafs roster, but not having Kerfoot against Buffalo when they are trying to build a bit of a buffer in the standings might bite them on the ass, though I might be overstating the importance of Kerfoot, who has 8 points in his 22 games this season, and only 1 in his last nine games.
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