Rome will face a four game suspension for the hit, while Horton will also miss the rest of the series through injury.
Senior Vice-President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy addressed the media in Boston and gave his thoughts on the incident and the punishment:
“I thought it was a late hit,” said Murphy, “I thought that the body was contacted. But I also thought that the head was hit. It caused a serious injury to Nathan Horton. So the key components are the late hit, which I had it close to a second late. We have our own formula at NHL Hockey Operations for determining late hits, and it was late. We saw the seriousness of the injury with Nathan on the ice last night”
Murphy continued “That’s basically what we deliberated on. We tried to compare it with some of the other ones in the past. But it stands alone. It’s why we made the ruling.”
Rome himself didn’t shy away from the media and had this to add. “I want to express my concern for Nathan’s well-being and wish him a quick and full recovery,” Rome said. “I try to play this game honestly and with integrity. As someone who has experienced this type of injury, I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it. I will not take away my teammates’ focus on the task at hand and intend to speak at an appropriate time in (the) future.”
Source: NHL
