Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov was fined $5,000 by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for roughing Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic on Sunday, and that was the only punishment handed down from the play.
The league did not issue a suspension, a decision that immediately sparked pushback from fans who believed the hit merited more than the maximum fine allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. With the CBA capping fines at $5,000, anything more severe would have required a suspension.
“How no suspension???”
Another reaction went straight at the league’s discipline arm.
“Player safety has kept 0 players safe”
One fan boiled the whole thing down to the money involved.
“Worth it”
Not everyone saw it the same way. Some fans defended Zadorov by pointing to hockey’s unwritten rules and arguing that Vlasic helped set the sequence in motion.
“Whether you softies like it or not, there's a code in this sport. When you jump a guy for no reason, and start laying ground and pound, that is 100% an unwritten license for the other team to take a liberty on YOU.
All this did was even the score. Go watch soccer I guess”
Another post said Vlasic had tried to fight a player who had no interest in dropping the gloves.
“Everyone's whining about this but not talking about how Vlasic tried fighting someone who has no intentions in dropping gloves”
The incident came at 18:34 of the second period in Saturday’s game. A scrum developed near center ice, and Zadorov swung at Vlasic while he was defenseless. Ryan Donato then brought Vlasic down before officials stepped in and separated the players.
Zadorov was given two minor roughing penalties, a four-minute double minor, and a 10-minute misconduct.
Boston went on to win 5-4 in overtime. Zadorov now leads the NHL with 47 penalty minutes in 14 games this season and has four assists. He also led the league in penalty minutes in each of the previous two seasons.
The $5,000 fine will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund, and Player Safety said there will be no further discipline from the sequence. That leaves Zadorov available to Boston, with no suspension attached.
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