Treliving to NHL: 'This wasn't a unicorn' that broke Gaudreau's finger

Brad Treliving didn't see any mythical creatures roaming Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night.

The Calgary Flames general manager says he talked to the NHL about the Minnesota Wild breaking Johnny Gaudreau's finger with a series of slashes earlier this week, and he invoked one fictitious animal in particular.

"When you look at that game, it wasn't the first (slash)," Treliving said, according to Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun. "This wasn't a unicorn that popped up in the middle of a period. By our count there were 11 chops on (Gaudreau) in the game. Two, three, four, I got it, but maybe at nine we dial it in a bit."

YouTube user Philip Wu compiled a montage that put the count at 21, although it includes a few less egregious examples.

Gaudreau is expected to miss the next six weeks after having surgery Wednesday to repair his broken finger, which was fractured on the slash from Eric Staal.

"There are tactics with good players, but when you chop a guy in the hand there's a rule that says you can't do that," Treliving said. "We're not naive - do we whack guys, too? Probably. But the frustration comes when that turns into a player being out for an extended period of time."

Treliving repeatedly clarified that he didn't want his comments to be perceived as whining.

"This isn't moaning and groaning - this is a difficult job and we're not throwing any arrows at officials and we're not just trying to look after guys in our own tent," he said.

"There are rules in the game and we feel this was a situation - I'm not going to say avoided because you can't - but it could be handled differently."

Gaudreau was tied for the team lead in goals and led the Flames in points at the time of his injury.

He signed a six-year, $40.5-million contract extension with Calgary last month.