New York, NY – The National Hockey League suspended Anaheim Francois Jacques three games without pay on Monday for an incident in Sunday's game against Columbus.
Jacques was given a major for elbowing early in the third period of a 7-4 win over the Blue Jackets at Honda Center for delivering a hit to the head of Columbus forward R.J. Umberger after the visiting player released a shot on goal from the right wing.
"When taking a shot on goal at this spot on the ice, players understand the danger and should expect that a good, hard, full-body check could be delivered. However, no player should expect that his head will be made the principal point of contact, whether intentionally or recklessly targeted," said department of player safety spokesman Brendan Shanahan.
"It is important to note that while Umberger is taking a wrist shot, the position of his head does not change significantly either simultaneous with, or just prior to, contact. The onus, therefore, is on Jacques not to make the head the principal point of contact.
"We have taken into account that Umberger suffered no significant injury on the play. We have also taken into consideration that Jacques has been suspended once before in his 166-game NHL career."
As a repeat offender, Jacques was penalized based on the number of games in the season rather than the number of days. He will forfeit $23,780.49 of his salary, which goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund and will not be eligible to return until January 15, when the Ducks take on Vancouver.
The 26-year-old Montreal native was suspended for the remainder of the preseason and five regular-season games in September for leaving the bench during a legal line change to engage in a fight with Canucks forward Mike Duco during an exhibition contest.
He forked over nearly $18,000 in salary for the original infraction.
Anaheim received some good news late Monday, as defenseman Francois Beauchemin will not be disciplined following a hearing for a blind-side hit to Columbus forward Jeff Carter which resulted in a separated shoulder for the 27-year-old former Flyer.
