Possible suspension looming for Toronto's Pontus Holmberg after dirty retaliation against Ridly Greig
The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs came to blows in 2023/24, and it appears that's not over after Ridly Grieg was injured on a dirty pre-season play.
Last season, Toronto's Morgan Rielly was suspended for his cross-check to the face of Senators young forward Ridly Greig, and if the pre-season this year is anything to go by, those feelings are yet to subside. During the Maple Leafs vs. Senators pre-season clash, young forward Pontus Holmberg took frustrations out on Grieg, illegally taking him down early in the 1-1 game, forcing the young forward out of the game with an injury.
Unsurprisingly, Ottawa fans were less than pleased with the act, with some calling for a suspension and others questioning Holmberg's character, claiming that a play like this is the only way for him to be noticed by Toronto.
We've not seen this out of Holmberg before, but after Greig became enemy number one in Toronto last season, he saw an opportunity to make an impact, but in such an illegal manner, it's unlikely that this will do him any favours with Craig Berube and the Maple Leafs coaching staff. As for Greig, it's unclear what the injury is, but this is a clear example of targeting from Toronto towards a young forward that made one judgment error in his rookie campaign in the NHL, so hopefully he can recover in time for the regular season.
With Holmberg fighting for a roster spot in the Maple Leafs bottom-six, it's unclear as well if this move will win him favour with the coaching staff, because if not, it's simply a dirty move that caused an injury to an opponent in unnecessary fashion, so the next few days should answer many questions about the situation.
Source: House of Hockey
Pontus Holmberg facing suspension after retaliating against Ridly Greig for his empty-net slapshot last season
| POLL | ||
25 SEPTEMBRE | 123 ANSWERS Possible suspension looming for Toronto's Pontus Holmberg after dirty retaliation against Ridly Greig Should Pontus Holmberg face a suspension for this play on Ridly Greig? | ||
| Yes | 37 | 30.1 % |
| No | 86 | 69.9 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
