Alex Edler suspended two additional games after kneeing Eric Staal at IIHF Worlds
During Sweden's quarterfinal game against Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Championships in May, defenseman Alex Edler landed a knee-on-knee hit on Eric Staal, leaving the Carolina Hurricanes captain writhing in pain on the ice in Helsinki.
Staal suffered a third-degree sprain of his medial collateral ligament, but is expected to be ready for training camp in September. Edler was suspended by the IIHF for the rest of the tournament, which would end up being the semifinal and gold medal games.
Last week, Edler met with the IIHF's Disciplinary Committee in Switzerland to discuss further punishment, and on Tuesday it was announced that he was assessed an additional two-game penalty. He'll now miss Sweden's opening two games of the Sochi Olympics against the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
The panel that originally suspended Edler at the Worlds only had their powers through the end of that tournament. The Disciplinary Committee is able to hand out additional punishment, if necessary.
Edler was named to Sweden's 35-man Olympic orientation camp roster last week, but given that he'll miss two of the first three games, does this effectively end his chances to make the team with an already solid grouping of blueliners to choose from?
Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy
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