Report: Patrick Kaleta appealing suspension

Mike Brehm | USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta is appealing his 10-game suspension, TSN reports.

The double-digit penalty was handed down on Tuesday for Kaleta's head hit on Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson, who wasn't hurt.

But NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan had taken into account Kaleta's status as a repeat offender.

"The fact that it was delivered by a player who has been fined or suspended six times in the last four seasons, the last just 21 games ago, factors heavily into the severity of the decision," he said.

Kaleta's previous longest suspension was for five games for shoving Brad Richards into the boards in March, causing the New York Rangers center to miss two games. The latest suspension will cost him $152,439 in lost pay.

Under the appeals process, Commissioner Gary Bettman would hear the case again and make a ruling.

If Kaleta is unhappy with that result, he can have a hearing before an impartial arbitrator, who, according to the collective bargaining agreement, would "determine whether the final decision of the League regarding whether the Player's conduct violated the League Playing Rules and whether the length of the suspension imposed were supported by substantial evidence."

The arbitrator's decision would be binding. Kaleta will remain suspended during the appeals process.

Phoenix Coyotes tough guy Paul Bissonnette recently appealed his automatic 10-game suspension for leaving the bench to join an altercation during the preseason.

Additional video evidence showed that Bissonnette left on a legal line change, and Bettman ruled that a three-game suspension was appropriate.