Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann on his suspension: 'You want to be there for a teammate'

"After a scrum broke out during the third period on Monday after a Gage Goncalves knee on Dakota Mermis, during the Leafs' eventual 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning where McMann brought his stick down over the head of the Lightning's Oliver Bjorkstrand. McMann, who has never been giving a ban by the National Hockey League through parts of four seasons stated that there was no intent behind what transpired on Monday night."

""There was nothing malicious about it, I was never trying to injure anybody," McMann said. "Luckily nobody was hurt, I think you just get in those battles where the hands get high and things kind of just escalate." The Leafs forward was coming to the defence of Mermis, who was injured on the play, and when asked if that fed into the emotion and temperature of the situation, McMann stated that it definitely played a role."

"Goncalves was left unpunished for the hit that has knocked Mermis out of the Leafs lineup, but McMann believes that maybe the league should look back to the root cause of the situation as to why things escalated. "That's kind of the biggest thing is where the attention should be looked at, is where it all started." McMann said on the play."

Bobby McMann served a one-game suspension after bringing his stick down on Oliver Bjorkstrand during a third-period scrum that followed a Gage Goncalves knee on Dakota Mermis. McMann stated there was no malicious intent and emphasized he was not trying to injure anyone, saying hands can get high in those battles. He framed his actions as defending an injured teammate and suggested the league should examine the initial hit as the cause of the escalation. McMann watched the Leafs' 3-2 overtime loss from the press box and said the team is focusing on D-zone play and closing out games.

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