NHL player facing lawsuit following boarding a referee?

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Sam Walker
December 17, 2023 (11:12)

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During Saturday's game between the Seattle Kraken and the Los Angeles Kings, NHL referee Furman South unexpectedly got hit from behind by Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen.

The incident happened while the Kraken were on the powerplay, and the game was tied 1-1 in the second period. As Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson controlled the puck along the boards, Tolvanen went in for a check. Even though South managed to avoid the action along the boards, he unintentionally ended up in Tolvanen's way.

Trying to minimize the impact, Tolvanen pulled up, but he couldn't prevent colliding with the referee, sending him into the boards.

Despite being visibly shaken, South stayed in the game, showing resilience after the unexpected collision.

This has happened before, and resulted in a long term suspension of 20 games, as well as a lawsuit for this vicious hit a few years back..

According to reports from TSN and CTV News, as well as relaying of the information from Sporting News, Henderson filed a lawsuit against Wideman and the Flames on April 18, seeking general damages of $200,000, special damages "to pay for housekeeping, yard work and hospital expenses" of $50,000, not to mention damages for loss of income and future loss of income of $10 million.