NHL Fines Lightning $100,000 And Coach Cooper $25,000
The NHL fined the Tampa Bay Lightning and coach Jon Cooper for their actions in Saturday’s fight-filled friendly against the Florida Panthers.
Tampa Bay was fined $100,000, while Cooper was fined $25,000.
The money from these fines go to the Club Fine Fund to be used for charitable purposes, the NHL said.
These fines come after the NHL Department of Player Safety handed out more punishments to Lightning players.
Right winger Scott Sabourin was suspended for four games for delivering an ungloved sucker punch to the head of Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad less than three minutes into the game. He received a match penalty at the time.
In the department’s video explanation, Sabourin initially delivered a clean bodycheck.
“Sabourin makes no effort to locate the puck or return to the play and instead engages Ekblad again with a high shove,” the video said. “He then immediately continues to go after Ekblad, dropping his gloves and stick, grabbing Ekblad and delivering a forceful, ungloved punch directly to Ekblad’s face that causes him to fall back to the ice.”
After a telephone hearing with Sabourin and the Lightning, NHL Player Safety determined Sabourin’s actions were intentional with the purposes of retribution and message-sending. The teams had played two days earlier and combined for 186 penalty minutes.
J.J. Moser was also suspended for two games for boarding Panthers center Jesper Boqvist later in the first period. He was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct at the time.
While Boqvist changed his speed slightly to play the puck, Moser kept his speed and delivered a forceful, reckless check from behind that drove Boqvist into the boards, the video said.
On Sunday, Lightning teammates Roman Schmidt and Gage Gonclaves were fined the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement for separate cross-checks.
Schmidt cross-checked Carter Verhaeghe in the first period and received a major penalty and game misconduct. NHL Player Safety fined him…
