Ex-NHLer Ritchie suspended in Finland for on-ice incident
Published
Former NHL forward Nick Ritchie has been suspended for eight games by Finland's Liiga for an on-ice incident.
The 28-year-old Ritchie, playing for Oulun Karpat, was given a five-minute major and a match penalty for a series of gloved punches to the head of TPS player Markus Nurmea on Wednesday.
A league disciplinary committee found that Ritchie was "guilty of one-sided, deliberate and non-spontaneous violence" and he was suspended under Rule 46.4, punching a defenceless opponent or one who does not wish to fight.
A native of Orangeville, Ont., Ritchie is in his first season in the Liiga. In 10 games with Karpat, the winger has a goal and four assists.
The 10th overall selection by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2014 NHL Draft, Ritchie appeared in 481 NHL contests over nine seasons with the Ducks, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Arizona Coyotes and Calgary Flames.
In a combined 74 games last season with the Coyotes and Flames, Ritchie scored 13 goals and had 13 assists. For his career, Ritchie notched 84 goals and 186 points.
Internationally, Ritchie was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning entry at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships in Toronto.
Karpat currently sits in sixth place in the 15-team Liiga.