Posted this as a reply to Reddit comment but figured it was applicable here too:
Original hit happened January 27th, if the final appeal decision happens on the 7th (Monday) it will have been 40 full days since the hit happened.
Important to remember this process is possible for all suspensions of 6 games or more. Wideman will be on his 18th game the day of the 7th. There's no way this process is working effectively if this a normal timeline.
Also what happens if I player is suspended close to the end of the regular season, misses playoff games while going through the process, his team loses, and then the arbitrator decides that he should have a available for at least 1 playoff game? What does the team that is now watching instead of playing get for this?
Its fair to argue whether or not Wideman deserved 20 or less or more, but I really think the bigger issue here is how slow and inefficient this process is proving to be. If this appeal process is for suspensions 6 games or longer then it should not take more than 6 games at the most to complete.
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