I say "accost" and not "assault" because the nutjob Rypien only grabbed the fan's sweater and shook him up a bit.
Here's video of the incident:
Looks to me like the fan probably said something to Rypien and, according to one of the commenters at Minnesota blog Hockey Wilderness who was close to the action, went away thanking Rypien for the "easy lawsuit" (which is a dick move). Still, nothing excuses the players crossing the boundaries with the fans like this.
In reality, it likely doesn't matter how many games Rypien is suspended, because the Canucks are probably going to put an end to his season for this anyway. At least that's the less-than-total consensus from Nucks Misconduct fans.
So, Wings fans, should the NHL take a supreme hard line with Rypien here and Artestify him, or slap him with something a little shorter? Vote below.