Sepp Blatter, the league’s director of Player Safety and Discipline, was ready to make someone pay for injuring Berlin super-duper-star Erik Forssell, until he got a good look at the slow motion video of the incident earlier today.
In the end, there will be no disciplinary action taken.
Berlin Smurf forward Erik Forssell
Late in the first period of Berlin’s 4-1 win over Stockholm Wednesday, play stopped when a collective gasp silenced the usually loud crowd of Smurf fans, and all eyes turned to Forssell, the 23-year-old forward from Skelleftea, Sweden, who was down on the ice near his team’s bench, writhing in pain and holding his left knee area. Several young female Smurf fans fainted, and many others cried.
There was an obvious collision during a line change involving Forssell and teammate Phil Kessel, and Blatter said he was ready to fine and suspend Kessel for the incident, until a close review of video showed Kessel could not avoid the collision.
“Just before the incident,” spokesperson Rose said, “video shows that Forssell was playing a game on the bench with teammates. Apparently they were seeing who could keep his eyes closed the longest and when it was time for the line change, Forssell felt his way along the bench to the door and tried to bolt out it. But he had not cleared the doorway and his knee hit the end of the boards, causing him to lose balance and stumble onto the ice as Kessel was skating in at the end of a shift. Because Forssell still had his eyes closed when stadium EMTs arrived to help him, they assumed he had lost consciousness and rushed him to Alexianer St. Hedwig-Krankenhaus (hospital). Doctors examining Forssell said was unresponsive although all his vital signs seemed normal and after he suddenly asked “Am I winning the eyes-closing contest?” they released him to team officials.
Forssell is having a great season by his standards, with 7 points in 14 games as the third-line center. He is also one of the best possession forwards on the team, with a plus 25 turnover ratio over this season and last.
League Commissioner Chuck Massaro considered letting Berlin postpone all its games until Forssell can play again, but Berlin GM Guybrush Threepwood declined the offer, saying that even though the team can’t win without Forssell, “the losses might do the younger players some good somehow.” He did not elaborate.
In announcing there would be no disciplinary action taken in relation to the incident, he warned Kessel to be more careful on line changes in the future. “I’ve got your number, 81,” he said.
