Flames' Dennis Wideman to have appeal heard later this week

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Hockey League Players' Association will appeal to an arbitrator for suspended Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman on Thursday and Friday.

The NHLPA tweeted the announcement Tuesday night, and the appeal will be heard in New York by arbitrator James Oldham.

The NHLPA requested the appeal after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman upheld Wideman's 20-game suspension last week for cross-checking a linesman on Jan. 27. Paste BN Sports NHL columnist Kevin Allen detailed the stern message the league was sending with the length of Wideman's suspension.

Wideman knocked down Don Henderson during the second period of a game against Nashville. Wideman was checked hard into the boards, then banged his stick on the ice before knocking down Henderson in front of Nashville's bench. Wideman said he was in pain and was just trying to get off the ice, adding that he couldn't avoid Henderson. Concussion experts weighed in on the merit of that argument, saying there are "obviously some immediate effects" after a player takes a hit like Wideman did.

The suspension is the second longest in NHL history for abusing an official.

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