Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Sestito was suspended for four games after boarding Winnipeg Jets Toby Enstrom on Wednesday night. The hit came with just under seven minutes left in the first period, and Sestito received a game misconduct on the play. Earlier that period he also got into a fight with Chris Thorburn, giving him a total of 20 penalty minutes in only a minute of ice time.
Tom Sestito Suspended Four Games
Tom Sestito's hit and a pair of fights opened the first 13 minutes of the Penguins and Jets tilt: https://t.co/pgLkUPHy7q pic.twitter.com/4unNJerI9P
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNation_NHL) March 9, 2017
The game against the Jets was Sestito’s first since November, and only his ninth on the season. He only has one point in those games, a single assist coming on November 2nd against the Anaheim Ducks. He cleared waivers on November 18th, and was sent down on December 3rd.
During his stretch in the AHL, Sestito played in 33 games. In those he has just 16 points, including six goals. He also has a total of 121 penalty minutes, putting him third in the AHL. Of course, this isn’t very surprising from the enforcer that is Tom Sestito.
Given Sestito’s history, which includes one previous suspension in the NHL, the Penguins were under fire as a number of analysts believed he was only called up to help be a physical presence during their game against the Jets. Sestito was even asked if he thought he was only called up to provide toughness during the Jets game, to which he replied, “I thought maybe it was or goal-scoring.”
Tom Sestito, on if he was called up for physicality vs. WPG tonight: “I thought maybe it was for goal-scoring that they wanted me up here.”
— Sam Werner (@SWernerPG) March 8, 2017
Sestito is most likely going to be sent back to the AHL before he can sit out all four of his games. If this happens, he will just have to serve the suspension the next time he is called up.
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