The Detroit Red Wings may be without one of their best players for a while. Red Wings' left wing David Perron is facing a long-term suspension from the league for a hit that occurred in a game against the Ottawa Senators, per The Athletic.

Perron is being asked if he wants an in-person hearing from the NHL's Department of Player Safety to discuss the incident. This usually indicates the league is planning to suspend a player at least five games, but possibly even longer. Perron cross-checked Senators defenseman Artem Zub in a game against the Senators on Saturday. The hit occurred in the first period, and the Senators went on to win that game, 5-1.

An in-person hearing can also act as a de-briefing session, that allows the player to speak to the league about an incident and give greater context to what happened. It's not certain what Perron would discuss in that meeting, but it's certainly an opportunity for him to plead his case. Perron is one of the most experienced members on the Red Wings, having played in more than 1,000 career games. This season, Perron has 13 points, off of 7 goals and six assists.

Perron was ejected from the Senators game for the play. It was ruled at the time that the hit was retaliation by Perron. Earlier in that game, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin went down with a bad injury after being hit by a Senators player. Perron seemed to go after Zub as a result of that earlier incident.

The Red Wings are 14-8-4 on the season. The team next plays the Dallas Stars Monday at 8:00 Eastern. Dallas is 15-8-3 on the season.