Trevor Gillies Suspended 12 Games For Head Smash

The American Hockey League has spoken on the Trevor Gillies incident and the verdict is out. The league has suspended the AHL enforcer for 12 games following his attempt to bash William Carrier’s head into the ice in a game on the weekend. Is it enough? Not enough? You be the judge.

The incident occurred during a 6-1 Rochester Americans victory in which Trevor Gillies wasn’t pleased and came out for his second shift of the game. After shoving Johan Larsson out of the way, he found Carrier and started punching him for no apparent reason. Carrier then turtled in hopes the ref would end the fight but Gillies took that opportunity to pick-up the back of his jersey and forcibly slam his face into the ice.

Thankfully for Carrier his visor took most of the brunt during the head smash and we was not seriously hurt. Gillies was handed an automatic one game suspension before being given 12 more games off.

Now in case you are unfamiliar with Trevor Gillies here are two very telling tweets that should tell you everything you need to know about the former NHL tough guy who now slams the heads of promising young forwards into the ice in the AHL.

And

Perhaps what irritates the most about the incident, even before the head slamming, is the fact Gillies has played just 1 shift the entire game before this incident. It’s clear as mud why he was placed on the ice, to cause trouble and that falls squarely on the coach.

Sure he didn’t tell Gillies to smash a guys head into the ice, nor did he know that’s what would happen. However, when you place a guy like Gillies on the ice that late in a blow-out game, the only reason is trouble.

With the 12 game slap on the wrist, Trevor Gillies will be able to return to the Adirondack Flames on November 15th where he will have the opportunity to injury more talent in the AHL. The history is clear with this guy, but the AHL looked the other way on this one. Why he’s allowed back on the ice is puzzling.

What do you think of the suspension? The 35 year-old veteran doesn’t have much life left in his game but do you think he’ll have a chance to injure another player before he calls it quits on a less than impressive career?