Nick Foligno Autographed Card

Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno checked Colorado Avalanche winger Pierre-Édouard Bellemare with an elbow to the head last night, an action he himself described as having made him "sick to his stomach". Today, the verdict came in: he'll be suspended for three games.

That number seems right, considering Foligno's prior disciplinary record shows just a single fine in parts of 13 seasons in the NHL, and because Bellemare suffered a concussion and will also miss time due to the hit.

Foligno had a career year in 2014-15, posting 73 points when his career average had him oscillating between 35 and 45 points per season instead; he regressed to his mean (37) the following year only to bounce back with 51 in 2016-17, but has since been a 33-35-point player, playing second fiddle on left wing behind superstar Artemi Panarin.

That outlier season resulted in his signing a six-year, $33M deal averaging $5.5M per which expires next season; ironically, 35-40-point players now go for $4.5 to $5M, and his being captain can sort of account for the bonus money, so he's actually not all that overpaid this year, but the last two (and 2015-16 even more so) were disappointing by a cost-of-point measure.

Here he is paying tribute to his father's - Buffalo Sabres 19880s star forward Mike Foligno - goal celebration, on card #RH19 from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Series 2 collection and Rookie Headlines sub-set:

He signed it in blue sharpie in his final year with the Ottawa Senators, in 2011-12, tagging his uniform number (71) at the end, which is a perfect fit for my Sens Numbers Project.