An official pushes Michael Bunting off the rink

A somewhat unusual scene occurred on Tuesday night at the Scotiabank Arena. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Ponting was pushed off the ice by an official who directed him into the door leading to the locker room.

The official’s name is Dan Kelly, a referee who has served in the NHL since 2019. After initially escorting him, Kelly shoved him twice to prevent him from returning to the ice when Bunting was practically motionless.

The latter, after Kelly left, exclaimed that he did not understand what was happening and was crazy.

Upon research, we realize that the official in question is a former MLS player and that during his years as a player, he was actually involved in an incident with a player for the Toronto Marlies.

In 2016, while playing for the Albany Devils, he was suspended 10 games by the AHL for hitting Andreas Johnson in the head. Here is the sequence in question.

Kelly then finished his career with the San Jose Barracudas before devoting himself to refereeing.

The Scouts’ Twitter page, which analyzes the work of officials and provides details of tasks and rules, said the sponsor should have been careful and left, but the official was sure to get a message from the NHL informing him of this kind. the situation.

This situation has clearly made Maple Leafs supporters react, most of whom wish to never see this referee again and who consider this gesture to be disgraceful. It must be said that if the situation had been reversed, Ponting would have received a long suspension.

a lot of

Injuries are piling up in Denver.

– Quite the performance of yesterday.

– Follow.

– Dumont’s opinion is interesting.

Superb maneuver.

What name should be given to this maneuver? 😱🤩https://t.co/V86H8i26HL

– TVA Sports (TVASports) December 20, 2022