NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Less than 10 hours after Boston Bruins defenseman Marty McSorley stained his sport with a vicious slash to the head of Vancouver Canucks enforcer Donald Brashear, the NHL reacted with an indefinite suspension.

The league announced the suspension this morning, pending a hearing which is scheduled for Wednesday.

In one of the ugliest incidents in NHL history, McSorley intentionally delivered a slash to the side of Brashear's head in the final seconds of Vancouver's 5-2 win over the Bruins on Monday night. The blow sent the Vancouver left wing to a frightening crash on the ice, resulting in a concussion.

"It's sickening to me, it's sickening to anybody to see this kind of thing," Canucks coach Marc Crawford said. "There's no other words to describe it. There is absolutely no room for this, no place in hockey. It was a despicable act."

McSorley, who will serve his seventh career suspension but his first since 1994, was assessed a match penalty for deliberate injury of an opponent, which comes with an automatic review for suspension.

Brashear was motionless before being placed in a neck brace and carted off while surrounded by teammates. Afterwards, he was walking around in the locker room.

The play evoked memories of the cheap shot Dale Hunter levied on Pierre Turgeon in the 1993 playoffs. After Turgeon scored a goal in New York's playoff-clinching win over Washington, Hunter inexplicably hit the Islanders center, who suffered a separated shoulder.

McSorley's ban could rival that of Hunter, who received a 21-game suspension -- the longest for an on-ice incident in NHL history.

McSorley, who was involved in a fight with Brashear in the first period, was even surprised by his cheap shot and apologized after the game.

"I want to apologize to the city of Vancouver, to Donald Brashear," McSorley told a local radio station. "I don't know what was going through my mind at that time. It was a stupid mistake."

The play apparently was in retaliation for an injury Brashear might have caused to Bruins starting goaltender Byron Dafoe. But McSorley's attack cleary was intentional.

As a result of the hit, Brashear immediately fell backward to the ice, slammed his head and was knocked unconscious. Canucks captain Mark Messier immediately jumped on the ice with the team's trainer to tend to Brashear.

"It was a dangerous play," said Messier, a former teammate of McSorley. "I don't know what else to say. It's really tough. Everybody knows it's a dangerous game and we all know injuries can happen. But something like that takes the air out of the game. What else can you say?"

Following the incident, Canucks goaltender Garth Snow went after McSorley, setting off a brawl, and fans littered the ice with debris. Once things were settled, referee Brad Watson ended the game without playing the final three seconds.

"It's the first time I've witnessed something like that in 21 years," Bruins veteran defenseman Ray Bourque said. "It's not fun, they battled all night. You have to ask Marty if he had a reason. I don't want to be a part of that. It's tough to watch. You can't justify an act like that."

McSorley entered the night third to Dave "Tiger" Williams and Hunter with 3,352 career penalty minutes.

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