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Dustin Byfuglien to have DoPS phone hearing for brutal crosscheck on J.T. Miller

Dustin Byfuglien to have DoPS phone hearing for brutal crosscheck on J.T. Miller

Winnipeg Jets rover Dustin Byfuglien will have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. But the hearing will be via phone, which means he can’t receive more than a five-game suspension for the below brutal crosscheck of Rangers forward J.T. Miller in Tuesday night's loss to New York. DoPS did not offer Byfuglien an in-person hearing.

This is perfect (or not) for the Jets, since if it ends up being four games for Byfuglien, he’ll return right on schedule for Winnipeg’s playoff showdown with the Calgary Flames in the final game of the season. Or if it’s five games, Byfuglien is done for the rest of the regular season and has to watch his teammates try to make the playoffs without him.

Somewhere, Evander Kane laughs.

So in regards to the punishment fitting the crime? Miller, amazingly isn’t hurt, and Byfuglien may have put himself on the sidelines to watch the Jets potentially not make the playoffs. And if you’re his teammate, you’re not going to be happy with him, because he made such a dumb decision and got himself suspended in a crucial part of the year.

If you want a longer suspension for Big Buff, the argument would say the league needs to do a better job policing plays like that, regardless of the situation, timing of the season, playoff implications etc., which probably all were accounted in not offering Byfuglien an in-person hearing.

But Byfuglien is going to pay (literally and figuratively) in some form, and again unless he really doesn't give a rip, you can't put a price on how annoyed his teammates probably feel with him over this. Players like Andrew Ladd and Toby Enstrom, who, like Byfuglien, have been with the organization for years, played in Atlanta, and desperately want to make the playoffs can't be too pleased.

Of course, if Winnipeg makes it, he will return to the lineup for the playoffs. But their position is not exactly sound.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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