Player agent making significant noise, going off on the NHL's Department of Player Safety and George Parros

On Saturday during a game between the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, Wings Captain Dylan Larkin and David Perron were engaged in a battle in front of the Senators net with two Senators players, one being defenseman Artem Zub the other being Mathieu Joseph. Joseph cross-checked Larkin in the back of the head which sent Larkin forward into the fist of Parker Kelly. The multiple impacts sent Larkin spilling to the ice, completely unconscious. Immediately after, Perron went after Zub and cross-checked him to the head.

Larkin remained motionless on the ice for quite some time before being helped off of the ice. He did not return to the game and there was no timetable for his return following the game.

Perron was ejected and given a match penalty for cross-checking on the play. The NHL Department of Player Safety offered Perron an in-person hearing the following day, and the two sides met yesterday via Zoom. The in-person hearing meant that Player Safety would have the option to suspend Perron for more than five games if they chose to. Ultimately, Perron was given a six-game suspension for his cross-check, which according to Pierre LeBrun, will be appealed by the NHLPA.

Following the announcement of his suspension, Perron's agent, Allan Walsh, took to Twitter/X and called out the NHL's Player Safety department and George Parros by name.



In his statement, Walsh referenced Jacob Trouba's slash to the head of Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic two weeks ago that saw Trouba only receive a fine. Walsh has always been very vocal when it comes to defending his players whether it was for something like a suspension or when a team went back on their word like Vegas did with Marc-Andre Fleury.

Many may find that Walsh is biased towards his own players when he inserts himself in these situations, but I think that fans and other agents, as well as players, can agree that the Department of Player Safety has done a very poor job in recent years showing any real consistency for suspensions and fines across the league. The players no longer know where the line is and it feels more like Parros is just spinning a giant wheel to decide who gets fined, who gets suspended and how long their suspension is.

This is not the first time that Joseph has hit Larkin with a dangerous hit as he also hit Larkin from behind while he was playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021. That play resulted in Larkin being suspended for one game as he went after Joseph for the dirty hit. Joseph received no supplimental discipline for his cross-check to Larkin in this instance either.