If the beard is ripped out accidentally, it’s OK: NHL

Toronto centre Nazem Kadri may have got off lightly for grabbing Joe Thornton’s beard in Thursday night’s shootout win over the San Jose Sharks.

For one, he survived a tilt with a much bigger man (six-foot-four and 220 pounds vs. six feet and 195 pounds) with only some facial swelling. But he also escaped further punishment for getting his hand tangled in Thornton’s mountain-man beard, pulling out a chunk of hair in the process.

On the plus side for Thornton, the Sharks star would have had to shave before fighting had he been in the UFC.

Asked whether the rule book covered beardpulling, the National Hockey League pointed to Rule 75.2 (ii), which says: “Any player who is guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct including, but not limited to hair-pulling, biting, grabbing hold of a face mask, etc. If warranted, and specifically when injury results, the referee may apply Rule 21 – Match Penalties.” Both combatants only got fighting majors. It appears the referees decided the beard interaction was unintentional. Or perhaps, like everyone else watching, it just took a while to figure out what had just happened.

The fight occurred two seconds into the game. Kadri said Thornton challenged him after the two were tossed out of the opening f faceoff following a nasty slashing exchange.

Kadri, 27, appeared to be trying to grab a handful of his sweater but got beard instead — unintentionally, he said later.

“I mean he’s a big boy.” “I couldn’t reach all the way across his shoulder. I felt like I just grabbed him in the middle of his jersey and just came down with a handful of his hair.”

“I thought I was a hockey player not a barber,” he added with a chuckle

The damage appeared to be done as Thornton lost his balance and went down, with Kadri still attached to his beard.

The dislodged hair landed on the ice and the mini-tumbleweed was eventually handed over to the Sharks bench, presumably for safekeeping.

Thornton, who didn’t speak after the game, has been in beard brouhahas before.

In the 2015-16 playoffs, he and St. Louis centre David Backes each grabbed the other’s beard during an altercation that saw no punches thrown.

“Just seeing if it was glued on well. It checked out,” Backes said later.

Thornton has been in 29 fights in his 21-year career, according to hockeyfights.com. Kadri has been involved in six in nine years in the league. Other leagues also have hair-related rules. In the Canadian Football League and National Football League, a player with the ball can be tackled by the hair if it is hanging out.