To say Brady Tkachuk is/was unhappy with Brendan Lemieux would be putting it mildly. During Saturday’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Ottawa Senators, the Sens’ captain claims Lemieux him twice during an altercation in the third period that led to Lemieux receiving a match penalty.
Tkachuk was asked about the incident after the game and didn’t hold back his thoughts on the biting and the player, saying “it was the most gutless thing anyone can do.” He added, “This guy, you can ask any one of his teammates, nobody ever wants to play with him, this guy is a bad guy and a bad teammate, he focuses on himself all the time.”
Calling Lemieux a joke, Tkachuk said there’s no way Lemieux should still be in the league and said no team is going to want him, even if he begs to be included. He added of the actual biting, “It’s outrageous. Kids don’t even do that anymore. Babies do that. I don’t even know what he was thinking, he’s a complete brick head.”
Lemieux has been offered an in-person hearing by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Sunday. It is widely believed he could be facing a lengthy suspension. Some have gone so far as to suggest this might be the beginning of the end for Lemieux in terms of NHL work.
It’s bad enough to do this in the best of times. With a pandemic, it’s worse and it’s unlikely to expect teams to tolerate this sort of behaviour.
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