If Lightning prospect Conor Geekie cracks the opening night roster, he may still have to wait to make his NHL debut. The pivot is facing a suspension today for violating league Rule 70.2, which prohibits leaving the bench “on a legal line change for the purpose of starting an altercation,” the Department of Player Safety announced.
Midway through the second period of last night’s overtime loss to the Panthers, Geekie started a shift and immediately laid a hit on and subsequently fought Florida forward prospect Josh Davies. Geekie wasn’t tossed from the game, but he was given a total of 19 PIMs on the play – a 10-minute instigator misconduct, a fighting major, an instigator minor, and a cross-checking minor.
The altercation shortly followed a hit that Davies laid on Lightning captain Victor Hedman that violated no league roles and wasn’t penalized, although it did immediately draw the ire of Tampa star Nikita Kucherov, who attempted to drag Davies down to the ice during play immediately following the hit (video via Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times).
As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman points out, Geekie isn’t facing the automatic 10-game suspension levied for leaving the bench to join an active fight. Previous suspensions for violations of Rule 70.2 range from one to two games. The Lightning have two preseason games left on their schedule, so Geekie may be back for the season opener, although the league may up the suspension slightly to compensate for the much weaker punishment of being barred from exhibition play.
Geekie, 20, was the 11th overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Coyotes. After his entry-level contract was transferred to Utah, they traded him to the Bolts in this offseason’s Mikhail Sergachev blockbuster. He lit up the WHL last year for 99 points in just 55 games split between the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current Broncos.