MANALAPAN, Fla. \u2014 This was George Parros standing up for himself and his teammates, which he has commendably made a career of doing.<\/p>\n
The former pugilist, who\u2019s now in his eighth season as senior vice president of the NHL\u2019s Department of Player Safety, had no choice but to do it after the league\u2019s biggest superstar, Connor McDavid<\/a>, justifiably called into question the process of how supplemental discipline is meted out.<\/p>\n \u201cI think player safety has done their best,\u201d the Oilers captain said on Sunday. \u201cIt\u2019s not an easy thing to do. With that being said, I think there is reason to take a look at how the whole process works.<\/p>\n “If every time there\u2019s a suspension, everybody complains about it, why don\u2019t we take a look at the process and figure out if there\u2019s a better way to make sure both parties are happy? It seems like there\u2019s a lot of frustration there.\u201d<\/p>\n Gudas was given a phone hearing, which led to a five-game suspension \u2014 the maximum permitted after a hearing that doesn\u2019t occur in person. That incited McDavid\u2019s comments, as well as an outraged reaction from the Maple Leafs and Matthews\u2019 agent.<\/p>\n \u201cListen, is anybody surprised that an agent is going to stand up for his player? I\u2019m not,\u201d said Parros, who was addressing reporters Tuesday prior to the second of three NHL general manager meetings scheduled at the Eau Palm Beach and Resort this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nasty stuff that gets said out there in the social-media world, but it\u2019s not my concern,\u201d Parros added.<\/p>\n As for the process McDavid said requires review, Parros defended his department, which includes former NHL star Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Burke.<\/p>\n \u201cWe sweat over these decisions and pore over these decisions every night, all season long,\u201d Parros said. \u201cWe have a process in place that\u2019s consistent, and we have a team that works for me, and together with me, that evaluates all these plays. A very experienced team, a veteran team, guys that have been there since the beginning of the department. Not to mention all the former players that have a large set of experiences playing NHL games, accolades. Some of the best guys that have played the game work for this department help make decisions. So, our process, I feel very confident in. We\u2019ve got great guys who make these decisions, and I think the players should be confident in these teams to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n Parros had no regrets for how the Gudas file was handled.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel confident in this decision,\u201d the 46-year-old said. \u201cWe came to it for good reason. When we evaluate these plays, we look at the play, not the players. And when we determine if this is play is worthy of supplemental discipline, we then look at the history of the players involved and if there\u2019s an injury or not. This is how we come to make all of our decisions. We did this and made the decision under those circumstances, felt that this was the appropriate response, and we stand by it.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the only one that\u2019s come under scrutiny this season.<\/p>\n As is typical of any season, the incidents that don\u2019t end up being suspended often come under the heaviest fire \u2014 like this one<\/a>\u00a0from Florida Panthers forward Sandis Vilmanis on Boston Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy.<\/p>\n Or how about this one, which saw New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal avenge a hit on rookie teammate Matthew Schaefer by taking a two-handed axe swing at the under-protected part of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mason Marchment\u2019s foot?<\/p>\n Barzal was ejected from the game and levied a $5,000 fine by DoPS for slashing \u2014 the maximum under the CBA \u2014 and it was hard to argue the punishment fit the crime.<\/p>\n