Dennis Wideman's bizarre hit on linesman: What's your verdict?

UPDATE: The NHL has indefinitely suspended Wideman pending a hearing after the All-Star Game.

The talk of the NHL has beenlast night's hit by Calgary Flames defencemanDennis Wideman on linesman Don Henderson.

The bizarre incident has divided the hockey community, with some saying Widemanshould be suspended for cross-checking the official from behind and others saying the collision was incidental and unintentional.

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Wideman himself had just taken a hit from the Nashville Predators' Miikka Salomaki and was making his way to the bench in obvious distress.

There was no penalty calledon the play.

"I took a pretty hard hit down in the corner and had some pretty good pain in my shoulder and my neck and I was just trying to get off the ice and I waskindakeeled over and at the last second, I looked up and I saw him and I couldn't avoid it,"Widemanexplained.

Do you believe his account of the incident? What do you think the NHL should doabout it?

For the record, Rule 40 of the NHL Official Rulesstates that "anyplayer who deliberately strikes an official and causes injury or who deliberately applies physical force in any manner against an official with intent to injure, or who in any manner attempts to injure an official shall be automatically suspended for not less than twenty (20) games."

The rulebook adds:"Any player who deliberately applies physical force to an official in any manner (excluding actions as set out in Category I), which physical force is applied without intent to injure, or who spits on an official, shall be automatically suspended for not less than ten (10) games."

The last player punished under that rule was Dennis Carcillowho was initially suspended 10 gamesfor elbowing linesmanScott Driscoll in 2014, but later saw that suspensionreduced to six games.

Here's what some others had to say about Wideman's hit: