Lapierre faces the possibility of a long suspension. He has been offered an in-person hearing, meaning that his suspension could be six games or longer. The meeting is expected to happen on Friday, according to Canadian reporter Renaud Lavoie. And Lapierre will be suspended until that hearing.
Todd McLellan said of Lapierre's hit. "It's needless. Doesn't have to happen in our game. The respect factor isn't where it needs to be. Hard and stupid are two different people."
I'll tell you this, if Brendan Shanahan says this was a blind hit or a hit that didn't really need to happen, I would agree. Dan Boyle did not see Lapierre coming, so you could make the case that this was a blind hit. Despite that, it doesn't need to happen. I did say yesterday that I would give him five, but now that there is an in-person hearing, I would say either six or seven. Six at the minimum. And plus, if you add this last suspension in March 2010 for a hit from behind when he was a Montreal Canadien, you could agree that his past history with discipline could really factor into this.
Either way, Lapierre will be out of the game for a while. And the Blues are really going to need to find a way to replace him and stay ahead of the pack during that time.
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