Mike Matheson will head into the regular season lighter by $5,000 after the NHL stepped in following a heated preseason scrum with Ridly Greig.
The Department of Player Safety announced Sunday that the Montreal Canadiens defenseman had been fined the maximum allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement for roughing the Ottawa Senators forward. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
The play came on Saturday night, the final night of the preseason, during one of two feisty games between Ottawa and Montreal. Late in the second period, Greig and Matheson were tied up in front of the Canadiens net when Greig threw a cross-check to Matheson’s face. After getting back to his feet, Matheson answered by dropping Greig with a punch, then jumping on him and landing a couple more shots as the skirmish spilled into a small melee.
Both players were assessed minor penalties, but Greig has not received any supplemental discipline.
For Matheson, the fine adds another entry to a familiar list. This is the third time he has been fined by the league’s player safety department.
While with the Florida Panthers, he was fined $2,000 for diving/embellishment in April 2018 and $2,500 during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs for high-sticking then-New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson. He was also suspended for two games in October 2018 after a dirty hit on Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson.
Now entering his fifth season in Montreal, Matheson remains a key two-way piece for a Canadiens team being viewed as a challenger for the Atlantic Division title. He has put together four straight 30-point seasons, including 37 points in 78 games last year, and added four more points in 19 postseason games.
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