"He has a very stiff neck and a very bad headache," said Chiarelli, who went to Massachusetts General Hospital with coach Claude Julien after the loss to see Bergeron. "We spoke with his parents and they were really upset. I would imagine they'll be upset for a while. His face was beat up pretty good. You see a player like that go down, you feel concern, you feel anger. You look at the replay a thousand times and you see the history of that team this year. But you have to let the league deal with it."
Jones's two-game suspension is far shorter than suspensions handed out to Philadelphia forwards Jesse Boulerice (25 games) and Steve Downie (20 games) recently. Boulerice cross-checked Vancouver forward Ryan Kesler in the face Oct. 10. During a preseason game, Downie left his skates and drilled Ottawa's Dean McAmmond, leaving the forward with a concussion. Jones will sit out against Montreal Thursday and against Washington Friday.
Chiarelli was not available for comment about the suspension. Kent Hughes, Bergeron's agent, was disappointed by the league's ruling.
"If you're caught for reckless driving and injure somebody, it doesn't matter what your prior record is," said Hughes, referring to Jones's lack of a history of undisciplined play. "You're going to be in trouble."
Hughes said that Bergeron, who is suffering from post-concussion syndrome, felt worse yesterday than he did Sunday when he was released from Mass. General, although he said such reaction is normal among concussion patients.
Hughes said Bergeron felt nauseous and drained by simple activity. The agent said Bergeron was alert yesterday and was conversing with parents Gerard Cleary and Sylvie Bergeron, who were in attendance Saturday and remained in town.
