The Chicago Blackhawks will welcome back one of their forwards Tuesday night as Daniel Carcillo returns from the six-game suspension he was handed for cross-checking Mathieu Perreault in late January against the Winnipeg Jets.
Carcillo, who has received a boatload of suspensions and fines in his NHL career, recognizes that he made a mistake when he checked Perreault:
Despite that contrition, Carcillo insists that his style of play will not be impacted by the incident:
Those two statements are at odds with each other, but there are two ways to look at this reaction and Carcillo’s return. The first is that Carcillo will need to keep his emotions in check at times on the ice, and not react in the way he did when Perreault slashed Duncan Keith. Defending a teammate is one thing, but going after an opponent with the ferocity that Carcillo did is an invitation for the league to suspend him again, and for an even longer period of time.
The other way to look at things is to say that Carcillo isn’t going to learn his lesson, judging by the numerous infractions he’s committed in the past, and that the team could be better off cutting him loose. That almost certainly isn’t going to happen now, but it is something to keep an eye on if Carcillo continues these bad behaviors.
