Morgan Rielly’s five-game suspension upheld, eligible to return Thursday

The NHL has confirmed that Morgan Rielly’s suspension has been upheld after an appeal was made to commissioner Gary Bettman last week.

Rielly was suspended last week after cross-checking Ottawa Senators Ridly Greig in the head in the final seconds of a game earlier this month. The Maple Leafs defenseman was offered an in-person hearing at the league offices in New York early last week and was later issued a five-game suspension.

According to the league’s ruling, the NHLPA wanted the suspension to be reduced to three games for various reasons, the main being that the principal point of contact of the crosscheck was Greig’s body and not his head. They also argued that Rielly had no suspension history and Greig was not injured on the play.

Bettman deemed the suspension as being appropriate due to Rielly’s intention to cross-check Greig with a long time between the goal and the check. He also said Rielly’s lack of a suspension history, plus the fact that Greig wasn’t hurt, was considered in the five-game suspension.

Rielly will miss Toronto’s next game against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday before becoming eligible to return against Vegas on Thursday.

In 50 games this season, the 2012 fifth-overall pick has scored seven goals and 36 assists. In his 769-game NHL career, the former Moose Jaw Warrior has posted 80 goals and 377 assists, registering 37 points in 50 playoff games.

The Maple Leafs have performed well in Rielly’s absence, going 4-0-0. The recent streak has pushed the Leafs out of a wild-card spot and into third place in the Atlantic Division, looking strong with an 8-2-0 run over the past 10 games. Toronto has a three-point cushion over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first wild-card spot and a four-point advantage over Detroit for the final position.