Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno has been suspended three games without pay by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Monday after he was assessed a major and game misconduct for charging against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Foligno, 32, elbowed Avalanche forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in open ice during the second period of Columbus' 4-2 loss, sending his opponent crashing to the ice. Bellemare left the game and has since been diagnosed with a concussion and has been placed in protocol. According to head coach Jared Bednar, Bellemare will make the Avalanche's upcoming five-game road trip through Canada and Minnesota and is feeling better today.
Four looks on Foligno clipping Bellemare. Officials assess a major penalty #CBJ pic.twitter.com/kHt0ovUgFU
— Alison (@AlisonL) November 10, 2019
After the game, Foligno told reporters he "felt sick to [his] stomach" when he realized he hit Bellemare in the head.
"There was no intent to hit him like that at all," he said, via The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "I'm trying to line him up at the time, and he kind of turns back and makes that play and it just happens so fast... It's an unfortunate collision. My main concern is that he's all right, and I got word from their locker room that he was feeling all right."
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Foligno has seven points in 17 games this season. With the suspension, he will forfeit $88,709.67 of his average annual salary. He will not play in Tuesday's game at Montreal, and Friday and next Tuesday's home games against the St. Louis Blues and Canadiens, respectively.