Golden Knights Forward Suspended For Headshot

The NHL's Department of Player Safety has come down on Vegas Golden Knights forward Brett Howden for a brutal headshot to the Seattle Kraken's Brandon Tanev. Howden will sit out a two-game suspension.

Vegas’ Brett Howden has been suspended for two games for an Illegal Check to the Head on Seattle’s Brandon Tanev. https://t.co/HDghfYoHUK
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 11, 2023

The illegal hit was delivered at center ice in the third period of Tuesday night's season opener.

"Howden delivers a high, hard bodycheck that makes the head the main point of contact, on a hit where such head contact was avoidable," said the NHL's DoPS.
"This is an illegal check to the head.

"Howden's shoulder makes direct contact with Tanev's head, and it is the head that absorbs the majority of the check... The head contact on this play is avoidable."

Howden was assessed a match penalty and a game misconduct and will now lose $19,791 in salary, which goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The Golden Knights' middle-six forward became a much more aggressive player last season, notching 55 penalty minutes, more than doubling his totals in any previous season, and racking up 107 hits, 40 more than in any of his four NHL years before. He added 13 points in 54 games, while playing 13 minutes a night.