Stanley Cup Playoffs: Brendan Shanahan Was Wrong to Suspend Andrew Shaw

Nearly 72 hours after the hit happened and about six hours before the puck drops in Game 3, finally a punishment has been handed down.

Brendan Shanahan has decided to suspend rookie Andrew Shaw for three games for his hit on goaltender Mike Smith. Here is the video of his reasoning:

In my opinion, this is overkill. Shaw received a game misconduct for the hit, while Smith remained in the game and is expected to be in net for Game 3. He has been officially ruled a game time decision

Barry Melrose of ESPN said he thought Shaw would get a two-game suspension when on ESPN AM 1000 on Monday. Most of the Blackhawks' beat writers said he would probably not get punished any further.

Shanahan took his time in making the decision. The hearing occurred on Monday at 1:00 PM Central time, so he took about 24 hours to make a decision.

To me it seems like Shanahan is now trying to make up for the fact that he did not suspend Shane Weber for his hit on Henrik Zetterberg. He decided to fine Weber $2,500 instead of suspending him.

How long would Shaw have been suspended if he did have a past history?

This suspension adds a little more to an already jammed-pack series that has already seen two games go into overtime.

Now, the question is: Will we see Shaw again this series, or was this just what the Blackhawks needed to wake them up?

I guess we will find out tonight.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @dachicagofan and check out my weekly Hawks podcast every Friday on my site The MG Experience.