The saga continues... Wideman hit on referee... Nhl suing nhlpa

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The saga surrounding Dennis Wideman is apparently not over.
Reports on Wednesday indicate that the National Hockey League filed a lawsuit against the National Hockey League Players’ Association, seeking to restore a 20-game ban that was originally instated on the Calgary Flames defenceman. Wideman’s suspension was for hitting linesman Don Henderson during a game on Jan. 27.
The court document was filed by New York City law firm Proskauer Rose LLP, the attorneys for the plaintiff NHL. According to the document, the league wants the suspension vacated, claiming the NDA (Neutral Discipline Arbitrator) exceeded his authority under the collective bargaining agreement and “applied his own brand of industrial justice by disregarding the standard of review set forth in the CBA.” The league also says the arbitrator didn’t provide “substantial evidence” against the initial ruling.
NHLPA spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon pointed out that under the CBA, the arbitrator’s decision is binding and not subject to review.
“We are disappointed that the NHL has chosen to challenge the award of the Neutral Discipline Arbitrator (NDA) in court, as the collective bargaining agreement clearly provides that the decision of the NDA is final,” said Weatherdon in an e-mail. “We are confident this action is completely without merit and that the court will agree.”
The 33-year-old’s suspension had been reduced to 10 games by neutral arbitrator James Oldham on March 10 — which was the final result of a two-day hearing held in New York City on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 and a part of the process new to the most recent CBA.
The decision ended a lengthy appeal process which had been ongoing since the incident with Henderson during a game against the Nashville Predators.
The NHL and the NHLPA had released an 18-page document from Oldham which took into account Wideman’s 11-year discipline-free NHL career and indicated there was “no occasion to go beyond the 10-game minimum.”
At the time, the NHL released a statement on the suspension’s reduction.
“We strenuously disagree with the Arbitrator’s ruling and are reviewing the Opinion in detail to determine what next steps may be appropriate,” the statement said. “We will have no further comment until we have completed our review. In light of and in response to Arbitrator Oldham’s Opinion, Mr. Wideman will be reinstated and will be eligible to participate in his team’s games, effective immediately.”
The appeal process was lengthy, according to Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke.
“This is the first time that this process has been invoked,“ he had said after the final ruling was released in March. ”However, we hope the process gets expedited for the next player that goes through this.
“With regard to the arbitrator’s decision, we are grateful that the contact was not made with any intent to injure with the official involved. We believe that’s the case. We also fully support sanctions against players that make deliberate contact with officials.
“Our goal is to put it all behind us. I consider the matter closed.”
In total, the 10-game suspension cost Wideman $280,000 US. He was reimbursed for the nine extra games he sat out.
Henderson did not work a game for the remainder of the season while Wideman missed the last 12 games of the season with a triceps injury.
The Flames did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday night.\
kodland@postmedia.com
Twitter/Kristen_Odland
 
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