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Bobby McMann saw red when buddy Dakota Mermis was hurt.
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Then he saw white, as in the first Tampa Bay Lightning foe to give him grief in the scrum that followed Gage Goncalves’ knee-on-knee hit of Mermis on Monday.
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Thursday he saw the view from the stands, serving a one-game NHL suspension for his one-handed stick swing at the shoulder and head of Tampa’s Oliver Bjorkstrand. After McMann’s time-out, while he and the Maple Leafs grumbled that Goncalves did not face a league hearing, he conceded better judgment was called for in the heat of the moment.
“It’s an emotional game and things happen,” McMann said Friday as he was re-activated to face the Edmonton Oilers. “You make quick, emotional decisions and hope the league handles it the right way.
“There was nothing malicious about it, I obviously wasn’t trying to injure anybody (he has a clean record with the league) and luckily nobody was hurt. In those battles, the hands get high and things can escalate, that’s what it was.
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“You look at where it all started and think you want to be there for a teammate. That’s the biggest thing, the attention should be looked at where it started.”
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The department of player safety begged to differ and in the end, McMann had to be happy he just missed playing San Jose, as opposed to his home-province Oilers. Many family and friends will be watching Saturday in Wainwright, Alta.
“I didn’t really see this game on the schedule, or I’d been sweating a little more (at the hearing),” McMann laughed. “Maybe there’s a few more eyeballs on this one. But you don’t want to miss any games.”
McMann was replaced by William Nylander on Thursday on the line with Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua, but coach Craig Berube wouldn’t commit to keeping it for the weekend.
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