Maple Leafs’ Spezza offered in-person NHL hearing, teammate Simmonds fined | CBC Sports

Meanwhile, Leafs centre Jason Spezza has been offered an in-person hearing with the league via Zoom and will likely be suspended for kneeing Winnipeg defenceman Neal Pionk during Sunday’s game.

In-person hearings are required for any suspension that could be at least six games.

The date and time of Spezza’s hearing have not be announced.

Earlier in Sunday’s game, Leafs defenceman Rasmus Sandin was carried off the ice after an apparent knee-on-knee hit from Pionk, who was scheduled for the telephone hearing on Monday.

WATCH l Sandin suffers injury after knee-on-knee collision:

Leafs’ Sandin suffers injury after knee-on-knee collision with Jets’ Pionk

Toronto defenceman Rasmus Sandin has to be helped off the ice after colliding knee-on-knee with Winnipeg defenceman Neal Pionk. 0:45

Keefe thought the hit deserved a five-minute major.

“The guy gets carried off. I didn’t get much from the officials as to how they saw it. Obviously, they didn’t see it. If they did see it, they probably would have called it differently,” he said.

There were also enough penalties and punches thrown between the two sides in Sunday’s contest to evoke memories of the Broad Street Bullies of the 1970s.

“Today was just a good hockey game, right?” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “It had a little bit of everything in it. There was some energy and emotion, as there should be. Toronto for sure would be a rivalry as we played them 10 times last year. This game had some leftover from games past. It got a little heated out there, but that’s good.”