Kostopoulos Deserves Stiff Penalty for Hit on Stuart, Red Wings Say

Filed under: Flames, Red Wings, NHL Injuries, NHL Discipline

The time has come, says Kris Draper, for the NHL to step up and protect players.

The Detroit center was commenting Saturday in response to a Tom Kostopoulos hit that sidelined Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart for six to eight weeks with a broken jaw.

"(League officials) talk about head shots," said Draper. "Well, this is obviously a clear cut one when you break a guy's jaw."

Stuart was injured in the third period of Detroit's 5-4 shootout victory Friday night in Calgary. The Wings are calling for the NHL to take a tough disciplinary stance against the Flames' Kostopoulos (file photo, right).

"If you make a stand hard enough when this stuff happens, this stuff won't happen," said coach Mike Babcock as his club prepared to meet the Canucks in Vancouver on Saturday.

The incident comes in the first full season when the NHL is handing out supplementary discipline for head shots. The league asked the Wings to send Stuart's medical information. His jaw has two displacements but, contrary to Babcock's expectation after the game, it was not wired shut.

Babcock called the incident "really disappointing" and "a needless play."

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