NEW YORK (AP) — Brendan Shanahan has handed out his first suspension since becoming the NHL’s dean of discipline, banning Calgary forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond for the rest of the preseason and the Flames’ first game of the regular season.
Letourneau-Leblond will miss five games, the last one being the regular-season opener against Pittsburgh on Oct. 8, for hitting Vancouver forward Matt Clackson from behind on Tuesday. Shanahan suspended Letourneau-Leblond on Thursday in his new role as the NHL senior vice president of player safety.
Letourneau-Leblond violated the league’s expanded boarding rule that was created during the offseason.
