Sestito To Sit After Brutal Hit

Monday's preseason contest between Philadelphia and the New York Rangers yielded another decision for new VP of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan. Halfway through the first period Rangers Andre Deveaux was facing the endboards during a battle for the puck only to have Flyers Tom Sestito show no mercy by plowing through him from behind, a vibrant example of what the game is trying to eliminate. Deveaux did not see the hit coming and was definitely under the categories of "defenseless" and "vulnerable" which the NHL uses to describe situations where a player should avoid or "minimize" contact, neither of which Sestito attempted. Immediately following the hit, Rangers Stu Bickel dropped his mitts and went after Sestito for a short bout. Sestito was given a five-minute major for boarding, a five-minute major for fighting and a game misconduct for his actions.

Amidst the confusion of new rules, it appears even Sestito doesn't comprehend the boundaries that were CLEARLY outlined in DVD video format prior to the start of preseason action. Sestito essentially claimed he was just doing his job.

"I don't consider myself a dirty player, but I finish my checks," Sestito told CSNPhilly. "Hopefully, it wasn't that bad."

Sestito, however, knows the supplemental discipline is most likely forthcoming.

"Definitely not what I wanted to do is sit and watch when I want to show them what I can do," Sestito told CSNPhilly. "Everything happens for a reason."

Something did indeed happen and Sestito will be suspended for the remainder of the preseason and two regular season games, per Shanahan. Sestito will be available for duty October 12 to face off against the Vancouver Canucks, but after being waived and successfully clearing we probably wont be seeing him for a while as he will most likely spend his season in the minors.

The video below taken from Shanahan's Twitter page is the official explanation of his ruling.



-Dustin Lundberg