NHL Shows Bias Against Toronto Maple Leafs With Handling Of Rielly Hearing

The reaction to the play was mixed. Most fans seemed to agree that the play was not acceptable though. As such, a suspension seemed to be a worthy consequence of Rielly's actions in this case. Some even believed than an in-person hearing is exactly the right response.

That being said, some Leafs fans appreciated the play as Rielly certainly showed that he cares. The Leafs top players have consistently been criticized for not showing enough emotion on the ice so it makes sense why some fans would react to the play this way.

However, it should be noted that there is a right way to show emotion on the ice and a wrong way. Cross checking a player violently in the head firmly falls into the later category.

This play was subject to much debate on the latest episode of the SDPN podcast, a show hosted by three Leafs fans. They seemed to agree that some kind of suspension is a reasonable consequence of this play, but Steve made note that an in-person hearing seems to be a bit much.

The host seems to suggest that the league is biased against the Leafs in this segment. He does have a point that perhaps there have been worse instances that have gotten lesser punishments this season, but we still do not know exactly what Rielly's suspension will be so that analysis is not entirely fair. Be sure to stay tuned tomorrow when the league does hand Rielly his suspension.

As seen on Player Safety doing the Leafs dirty with how handled the Rielly in-person hearing announcement