Timo Meier suspension shows the inconsistency of NHL Department of Player Safety

The New Jersey Devils are likely going to be without forward Timo Meier for a game after the NHL Department of Player Safety laid down a one-game suspension for his hit on Nashville Predators forward Zachary L'Heureux. It wasn't so much a hit as it was a stick to the face, but it was clearly due to the actions of L'Heureux himself. Here, take a look:

Oh wait, that's not the right clip. That was a clip from last year when Ross Colton got a boarding penalty and a cross-check penalty on the same play. His cross check to Meier's face seemed pretty calculated, yet he was given a small $5,000 for his infraction. Let's find the right clip:

Well this example goes way back. Zdeno Chara is fined $5,000 for cross checking Brendan Gallagher very clearly in the throat. Nobody can assume intent, but these two likely have beef with the Bruins-Candiens rivalry and all.

There are dozens of fines and suspensions given out, and we often have an issue with them. It's because the NHL Department of Player Safety has a serious consistency problem. They cannot figure out what gray area actually is. Most of these calls should be black and white, but they attempt to identify intent, and it really shouldn't be that way. Here is the actual Meier cross check:

Here's where we're at; the intent here was clearly to shove L'Heureux after he cross-checked him in the back once the play was done. It was a move that started the whole confrontation. Also, L'Heureux clearly grabs Meier's stick, and that changes the trajectory of where it's going. Would he still be hit in the face? Maybe, but it all depends on what Meier was trying to do, and it seems unlikely he was trying to hit him in the face with his team up two goals in the third period.

We've been asking this Devils team to have a spine for years, and this team finally does. Meier is a huge part of that, but it appears that this play could put him on the naughty list. That puts extra scrutiny on his game moving forward.

The real issue here is putting Meier on suspension watch for future hits. He tends to play clean, but he does make big hits on the ice. If he were to make one wrong step and hit a guy in the head, an on-ice penalty could lead to further suspension.

On paper, we're fine with the suspension as the optics are not great, and we understand how optics impact these decisions in sports. However, the precedence just isn't there. There are much worse sticks to the head from players who clearly have ill intent, and yet they come out with a $5,000 fine. Remember the Jacob Trouba baseball bat swing? In case you don't...

We are going to sit here and say Trouba's Aaron Judge-level swing to Trent Fredric's head is less dangerous than Meier's stick to the face? The league continues to make a mockery of the suspension system with a total lack of consistency. But hey, at lead the Devils beat the major that was called on the play and won the game.