Perreault after outburst: 'I obviously wouldn't slash anybody in the face'
Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault cleared the air one day after his outburst about catching an uncalled elbow to the head made waves.
Perreault was incensed when asked about a hit from Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen on Tuesday, and he called out the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
And he has a very legit reason to be angry.
- JetsNation (@NHLJetsNation) January 15, 2020
Cheap shot delivered by Jake Virtanen. pic.twitter.com/7dnsqkQ9un
"Player safety, my ass" Perreault said afterward. "This is literally an elbow to the face of a guy that didn't have the puck."
"I can't really protect myself if the league's not going to protect me," Perrault continued. "I'm the smallest guy (on) the ice so I can't really fight anybody. The only thing I can do to defend myself is use my stick, so the next guy that does that to me is gonna get my f------ stick. And I better not get suspended for it."
On Friday, Perreault showed remorse for his comments.
"My emotions got a little high there," he told reporters. "I obviously wouldn't slash anybody in the face."
"That's just not who I am," he added. "I've never done anything like that in my career. So yeah, that was probably a little too much for me to say. I've always played a hard game between the whistle within the rules and never done anything to anybody really. That's just not who I am, so I wouldn't do anything like that. I'd like to take that back for sure."
The 32-year-old wasn't injured on the play, but Perreault has a concussion history and he was forced to miss time in December following a late hit from Joel Farabee that warranted a three-game suspension.
Perreault has appeared in 41 games for the Jets this season, posting six goals and six assists.
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