Former NHLer Brendan Lemieux suspended 4 games in Swiss league for punching official

Former NHLer and HC Davos forward Brendan Lemieux was suspended four games in Switzerland’s National League playoffs after striking a linesman in a scrum during a playoff game against the ZSC Lions.

The incident occurred last week when Lemieux, who joined HC Davos last December on a three-year contract, was in a shoving match with Lions forward Chris Baltisberger when he caught linesman Dominik Altmann with a punch, sending the official to the ice.

According to Scouting the Refs, the linesman was replaced by Dominik Schlagel. The punch may have been incidental, but Lemieux was still given a four-game suspension. He was also fined 6500 Swiss Francs, which is approximately $7,500.

Lemieux spent seven seasons in the NHL, scoring 36 goals and 38 assists for 74 points and 548 penalty minutes with the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes.

His best season came in 2019-20 with the Rangers, where he scored six goals and 12 assists for 18 points and 111 penalty minutes. Lemieux finished with two 100-penalty minute seasons in the NHL.

Before being called up, Lemieux spent two full seasons with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. In his first full season in 2016-17, he scored 12 goals and seven assists for 19 points and 130 penalty minutes, then followed that with a 2017-18 campaign that saw him score 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points and 170 penalty minutes in 51 games.