Canucks’ Rypien suspended six games for attacking fan

The forward lost his cool during a lop-sided loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Rick Rypien was leaving the ice on Tuesday night after fighting with the Wild’s Brad Staubitz in the course of a 6-2 Vancouver loss. On his way to the dressing room a Minnesota fan apparently told him “Way to be professional” and Rypien grabbed him by the shirt and shook him before being pulled away by a member of the coaching staff. The six-game suspension is relatively severe and signals the NHL’s low tolerance of player-fan skirmishes, although previous such incidents have provided some memorable highlight reel footage. The 26-year-old Rypien will be eligible to play again on Nov. 6 against Detroit, and the Canucks face the Wild again tonight.