Oh no Zack Kassian. Oh noooooo.
The 29-year-old is once again front and centre in the hockey world for the wrong reasons after he kicked Erik Cernak in the chest on Thursday night. Yes, that’s right. He literally took his skate after getting tangled up with Cernak and Josh Archibald and kicked the Lightning defender in the logo.
Fans were calling for Kassian’s head after the incident but most importantly, Cernak was able to get up and skate it off. Cernak was asked about the incident after the game and was very straightforward with his comments:
“I knew right away when he was on the ice he kicked me,” Cernak said post-game. “I think he was little bit mad. I asked him what was wrong with him, because that’s not a right play to do on the ice.
“He kicked me right in the chest, so luckily that wasn’t higher.”
The incident took place just a month after Kassian was suspended two games for dragging Matthew Tkachuk around like a ragdoll. Kassian’s excuse for the the kick wasn’t exactly convincing either…
"He was holding my leg. It was reactionary. I was just trying to get him off me, kick him off me. I was just trying to get my foot loose," Kassian said, per The Athletic's Daniel Nugent Brown, who added the forward appeared surprised to be asked about the incident. "I was laying there for a while, a couple of seconds, so I was just trying to pull my leg out...
Kassian will surely be disciplined for his actions, and it’s reasonable to think this suspension could be a lot longer than his last one. The Windsor native signed a new four-year deal a few weeks ago.
(H/T TSN.ca)
