2018–19_NHL_suspensions_and_fines
The following is a list of all suspensions and fines enforced in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2018–19 NHL season. It lists which players or coaches of what team have been punished for which offense and the amount of punishment they have received.
Based on each player's average annual salary, divided by number of days in the season (186) for non-repeat offenders and games (82) for repeat offenders, salary will be forfeited for the term of their suspension. Players' money forfeited due to suspension or fine goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund, while money forfeited by coaches, staff or organizations as a whole go to the NHL Foundation.[1]
† - suspension covered at least one 2018 NHL preseason game
‡ - suspension covered at least one 2019 postseason game
# - Suspension was later reduced upon further review/successful appeal; information presented in italics
R - Player was considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (player had been suspended in the 18 months prior to this suspension)
More information Date of incident, Offender ...
| Date of incident | Offender | Team(s) | Offense(s) | Date of action | Length | Salary forfeited1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2, 2018 | Nate Schmidt | Vegas Golden Knights | Violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.[2] | September 2, 2018 | 27 games† (7 preseason + 20 regular) |
$466,532.262,3,4 |
| September 7, 2018 | Austin Watson | Nashville Predators | Unacceptable off-ice conduct.[3] | September 12, 2018 October 12, 2018[4] |
33 games†# (6 preseason + 27 regular) 24 games5† (6 preseason + 18 regular) |
$354,838.712,3 $248,387.102,3 |
| September 19, 2018 | Max Domi | Montreal Canadiens | Roughing Aaron Ekblad.[5] | September 20, 2018 | 5 games† (5 preseason) |
N/A2 |
| September 25, 2018 | Robert Bortuzzo | St. Louis Blues | Elbowing Michal Kempny.[6] | September 27, 2018 | 3 games† (2 preseason + 1 regular) |
$6,182.802 |
| September 30, 2018 | Tom WilsonR | Washington Capitals | Illegal check to the head of Oskar Sundqvist.[7] | October 3, 2018 November 13, 2018[8] |
20 games# 14 games6 |
$1,260,162.60 $882,113.71 |
| October 13, 2018 | Mike Matheson | Florida Panthers | Interference and unsportsmanlike conduct against Elias Pettersson.[9] | October 15, 2018 | 2 games | $52,419.35 |
| October 23, 2018 | Mark Borowiecki | Ottawa Senators | Elbowing Urho Vaakanainen.[10] | October 24, 2018 | 1 game | $6,451.61 |
| October 28, 2018 | Mark BorowieckiR | Ottawa Senators | Illegal check to the head of Cody Eakin.[11] | October 29, 2018 | 3 games | $43,902.44 |
| November 2, 2018 | Brendan Lemieux | Winnipeg Jets | Illegal check to the head of Vincent Trocheck.[12] | November 5, 2018 | 2 games | $9,023.30 |
| November 15, 2018 | Josh Archibald | Arizona Coyotes | Illegal check to the head of Ryan Hartman.[13] | November 17, 2018 | 2 games | $7,258.06 |
| December 2, 2018 | Tyler Bertuzzi | Detroit Red Wings | Roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct against Matt Calvert.[14] | December 3, 2018 | 2 games | $15,053.76 |
| December 6, 2018 | Mark Giordano | Calgary Flames | Kneeing Mikko Koivu.[15] | December 7, 2018 | 2 games | $72,580.64 |
| December 6, 2018 | Ryan Lomberg | Calgary Flames | Automatic suspension for instigating in the final five minutes of regulation and leaving the bench on a legal line change for the purpose of starting a fight with Matt Dumba.[16][17] | December 7, 2018 | 2 games | $7,634.41 |
| December 8, 2018 | Zach Hyman | Toronto Maple Leafs | Interference against Charlie McAvoy.[18] | December 9, 2018 | 2 games | $24,193.55 |
| December 18, 2018 | Jujhar Khaira | Edmonton Oilers | Cross-checking Vince Dunn.[19] | December 19, 2018 | 2 games | $7,258.06 |
| December 22, 2018 | Erik Karlsson | San Jose Sharks | Illegal check to the head of Austin Wagner.[20] | December 23, 2018 | 2 games | $69,892.47 |
| December 27, 2018 | David BackesR | Boston Bruins | Illegal check to the head of Blake Coleman.[21] | December 28, 2018 | 3 games | $219,512.20 |
| January 15, 2019 | Paul Byron | Montreal Canadiens | Charging MacKenzie Weegar.[22] | January 16, 2019 | 3 games | $18,817.21 |
| January 17, 2019 | Ryan Johansen | Nashville Predators | High-sticking Mark Scheifele.[23] | January 18, 2019 | 2 games | $86,021.51 |
| January 26, 2019 | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | Automatic suspension for missing NHL All-Star Game.[24] | January 2, 2019 | 1 game | N/A |
| January 26, 2019 | Carey Price | Montreal Canadiens | Automatic suspension for missing NHL All-Star Game.[25] | January 7, 2019 | 1 game | N/A |
| January 29, 2019 | Austin Watson | Nashville Predators | Suspended indefinitely for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.[26] | January 29, 2019 | 21 games | $289,784.953,7 |
| February 11, 2019 | Evgeni Malkin | Pittsburgh Penguins | High-sticking Michael Raffl.[27] | February 12, 2019 | 1 game | $51,075.27 |
| February 19, 2019 | Radko GudasR | Philadelphia Flyers | High-sticking Nikita Kucherov.[28] | February 20, 2019 | 2 games | $81,707.32 |
| February 21, 2019 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers | Illegal check to the head of Nick Leddy.[29] | February 22, 2019 | 2 games | $134,408.60 |
| March 1, 2019 | Kurtis Gabriel | New Jersey Devils | Boarding Nolan Patrick.[30] | March 2, 2019 | 1 game | $3,494.62 |
| March 1, 2019 | Adam Lowry | Winnipeg Jets | High-sticking Filip Forsberg.[31] | March 2, 2019 | 2 games | $31,362.00 |
| March 9, 2019 | Jakub Voracek | Philadelphia Flyers | Interference against Johnny Boychuk.[32] | March 10, 2019 | 2 games8 | $88,709.68 |
| March 9, 2019 | Jack Eichel | Buffalo Sabres | Illegal check to the head of Carl Soderberg.[33] | March 10, 2019 | 2 games | $107,526.88 |
| March 20, 2019 | Jean-Gabriel Pageau | Ottawa Senators | Boarding Ashton Sautner.[34] | March 21, 2019 | 1 game | $16,666.67 |
| March 21, 2019 | Yanni Gourde | Tampa Bay Lightning | Illegal check to the head of Jordan Staal.[35] | March 22, 2019 | 2 games | $10,752.69 |
| April 12, 2019 | Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay Lightning | Boarding Markus Nutivaara.[36] | April 13, 2019 | 1 game‡ (1 postseason) |
N/A2 |
| April 13, 2019 | Nazem KadriR | Toronto Maple Leafs | Cross-checking Jake DeBrusk.[37] | April 15, 2019 | 5 games‡ (5 postseason)9 |
N/A2 |
| April 14, 2019 | Joe Thornton | San Jose Sharks | Illegal check to the head of Tomas Nosek.[38] | April 15, 2019 | 1 game‡ (1 postseason) |
N/A2 |
| May 6, 2019 | Charlie McAvoy | Boston Bruins | Illegal check to the head of Josh Anderson.[39] | May 7, 2019 | 1 game‡ (1 postseason) |
N/A2 |
| May 29, 2019 | Oskar Sundqvist | St. Louis Blues | Boarding Matt Grzelcyk.[40] | May 30, 2019 | 1 game‡ (1 postseason) |
N/A2 |
| June 6, 2019 | Ivan Barbashev | St. Louis Blues | Illegal check to the head of Marcus Johansson.[41] | June 7, 2019 | 1 game‡ (1 postseason) |
N/A2 |
| Player totals: | 154 games†‡ (20 preseason + 124 regular + 10 postseason) |
$3,051,465.07 | ||||
Close
Notes
- 1.^ All figures are in US dollars.
- 2.^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ As players are not paid salary in the preseason or postseason, no fines are generated for games lost due to suspension during those periods.
- 3.^ ^ Fines generated for games lost due to suspension for off-ice conduct are calculated uniquely and irrespective of repeat offender status.
- 4.^ Suspension accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health.
- 5.^ Watson's original suspension was for 27 games, plus the remaining 6 games of the preseason. The suspension was appealed by Watson on September 20, 2018.[42] On October 12, 2018, NHL/NHLPA Neutral Discipline Arbitrator, Shyam Das, overruled the NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's 27 regular season game suspension down to 18 regular season games. The NHL and NHLPA agreed to use Das as a neutral discipline arbitrator on an ad hoc basis as regular arbitrator George Nicolau was unavailable.[4]
- 6.^ Suspension was appealed by Wilson on October 5, 2018.[43] On October 25, 2018, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced he had heard the appeal and was upholding the original 20 game suspension levied to Wilson.[44] The NHLPA then appealed to neutral arbitrator on behalf of Wilson, on October 26.[45] On November 13, 2018, NHL/NHLPA Neutral Discipline Arbitrator, Shyam Das, overruled the NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's 20 regular season game suspension down to 14 regular season games. The NHL and NHLPA agreed to use Das as a neutral discipline arbitrator on an ad hoc basis as regular arbitrator George Nicolau was unavailable. Though Wilson had already missed 16 of his originally assessed 20 games before Das' decision was made, his suspension will stand as 14 games in the NHL records and his salary was refunded for the 2 games he missed.[8]
- 7.^ Indefinite suspension accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health - Stage 2. Suspension completed only upon being cleared for on-ice competition by the program administrators. Watson was reinstated by the NHL/NHPLA on March 18, 2019, after 49 days and 21 games missed. As part of his reinstatement, Watson was entered into the follow-up care phase of the Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.[46]
- 8.^ Suspension was appealed by Voracek on March 11, 2019; Voracek applied for an expedited appeal, due to the short nature of the suspension.[47] On March 13, 2019, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced he had heard the appeal and was upholding the original 2 game suspension levied to Voracek.[48] As Voracek's suspension was fewer than 6 games, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Commissioner's decision was final and binding and not subject to review, and the NHLPA was not allowed to appeal to a neutral arbitrator on Voracek's behalf.
- 9.^ Nazem Kadri was suspended for the remainder of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. At the time of the suspension, the number of games for the suspension could have ranged from 3 to 5 games.[37]
Players can be fined up to 50% of one day's salary, up to a maximum of $10,000.00 for their first offense, and $15,000.00 for any subsequent offenses (player had been fined in the 12 months prior to this fine).[1] Coaches, non-playing personnel, and teams are not restricted to such maximums.
Fines for players/coaches fined for diving/embellishment are structured uniquely and are only handed out after non-publicized warnings are given to the player/coach for their first offense. For more details on diving/embellishment fines:
More information Incident Number1, Player Fine2 ...
| Incident Number1 | Player Fine2 | Coach Fine2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warning (N/A) | Warning (N/A) |
| 2 | $2,000 | N/A |
| 3 | $3,000 | N/A |
| 4 | $4,000 | N/A |
| 5 | $5,000 | $2,000 |
| 6 | $5,000 | $3,000 |
| 7 | $5,000 | $4,000 |
| 8+ | $5,000 | $5,000 |
Close
- For coach incident totals, each citation issued to a player on his club counts toward his total.
- All figures are in US dollars.
Fines listed in italics indicate that was the maximum allowed fine.
More information Date of incident, Offender ...
| Date of incident | Offender | Team | Offense | Date of action | Amount1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 25, 2018 | Kyle Clifford | Los Angeles Kings | Kneeing Jordan Greenway.[49] | October 26, 2018 | $4,301.08 |
| November 6, 2018 | Milan Lucic | Edmonton Oilers | Roughing Mathieu Joseph.[50] | November 7, 2018 | $10,000.00 |
| November 14, 2018 | Josh Morrissey | Winnipeg Jets | Unsportsmanlike conduct against T.J. Oshie.[51] | November 15, 2018 | $8,467.74 |
| November 14, 2018 | Mikko Rantanen | Colorado Avalanche | Diving/Embellishment (second citation)2.[52] | November 21, 2018 | $2,000.00 |
| November 15, 2018 | Matt Cullen | Pittsburgh Penguins | Tripping J.T. Miller.[53] | November 16, 2018 | $1,000.00 |
| November 23, 2018 | Antoine Roussel | Vancouver Canucks | Biting Marc-Edouard Vlasic.[54] | November 24, 2018 | $5,000.00 |
| December 6, 2018 | Bill Peters (head coach) |
Calgary Flames | Automatic fine for Ryan Lomberg instigating in the final five minutes of regulation.[16] | December 7, 2018 | $10,000.00 |
| December 18, 2018 | Vince Dunn | St. Louis Blues | Cross-checking Jujhar Khaira.[55] | December 19, 2018 | $1,942.20 |
| December 27, 2018 | Dustin Byfuglien | Winnipeg Jets | Slashing Johnny Gaudreau.[56] | December 28, 2018 | $2,500.00 |
| December 28, 2018 | Phillip Danault | Montreal Canadiens | Dangerous trip against Aaron Ekblad.[57] | December 29, 2018 | $5,000.00 |
| January 12, 2019 | Mikhail Sergachev | Tampa Bay Lightning | Cross-checking Johan Larsson.[58] | January 13, 2019 | $2,403.67 |
| February 1, 2019 | Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay Lightning | Dangerous trip against Scott Mayfield.[59] | February 2, 2019 | $5,000.00 |
| February 1, 2019 | Zack Smith | Ottawa Senators | Elbowing Marcus Pettersson.[60] | February 2, 2019 | $5,000.00 |
| February 7, 2019 | James van Riemsdyk | Philadelphia Flyers | High-sticking Alec Martinez.[61] | February 8, 2019 | $5,000.00 |
| February 19, 2019 | Robert Hagg | Philadelphia Flyers | Interference against Cedric Paquette.[62] | February 20, 2019 | $3,091.40 |
| February 24, 2019 | Ben Chiarot | Winnipeg Jets | Cross-checking Nick Cousins.[63] | February 25, 2019 | $3,763.44 |
| March 1, 2019 | Jaden Schwartz | St. Louis Blues | Cross-checking Dougie Hamilton.[64] | March 2, 2019 | $5,000.00 |
| March 8, 2019 | Nick Ritchie | Anaheim Ducks | Cross-checking Christian Folin.[65] | March 9, 2019 | $4,121.86 |
| March 13, 2019 | Chris Kreider | New York Rangers | Elbowing Elias Pettersson.[66] | March 14, 2019 | $5,000.00 |
| March 16, 2019 | Timo Meier | San Jose Sharks | Diving/Embellishment (second citation)3.[67] | March 21, 2019 | $2,000.00 |
| March 30, 2019 | Joe Thornton | San Jose Sharks | High-sticking Ryan Reaves.[68] | March 31, 2019 | $2,500.00 |
| March 30, 2019 | Ryan Reaves | Vegas Golden Knights | High-sticking Joe Thornton.[69] | March 31, 2019 | $2,500.00 |
| March 30, 2019 | Colin Miller | Vegas Golden Knights | Diving/Embellishment (second citation)4.[70] | April 4, 2019 | $2,000.00 |
| April 5, 2019 | Ryan Getzlaf | Anaheim Ducks | Roughing Adrian Kempe.[71] | April 7, 2019 | $2,500.00 |
| Total: | $100,091.39 |
Close
Notes
- 1.^ All figures are in US dollars.
- 2.^ Rantanen was issued his first citation following an incident on October 16, 2018.[52]
- 3.^ Meier was issued his first citation following an incident on February 5, 2019.[67]
- 4.^ Miller was issued his first citation following an incident on November 23, 2018.[67]
- 2018–19 NHL Official Rules (PDF), NHL, October 3, 2018
- NHL Department of Player Safety Education Videos, NHL, May 27, 2014, archived from the original on March 19, 2014
- Glasner, Daniel (March 24, 2014), Goal: Transparent NHL Player Discipline. Assist: Labour Law, Canadian Lawyer, archived from the original on March 25, 2014, retrieved September 2, 2018
- Department of Player Safety FAQs, nhl.com, August 31, 2015
- NHL Suspends Schmidt for First 20 Regular-Season Games, nhl.com, September 2, 2018
- Watson of Predators Suspended 27 Games by NHL, nhl.com, September 12, 2018
- Watson of Predators Has Suspension Reduced to 18 Games, nhl.com, October 12, 2018
- Domi Suspended Remainder of Preseason for Action in Canadiens Game, nhl.com, September 20, 2018
- Bortuzzo of Blues Suspended One Regular-Season Game, Rest of Preseason, nhl.com, September 27, 2018
- Wilson Suspended 20 Games for Actions in Capitals Game, nhl.com, October 3, 2018
- Wilson Suspension Reduced to 14 Games, Returns for Capitals, nhl.com, November 13, 2018
- Matheson Suspended Two Games for Actions in Panthers Game, nhl.com, October 15, 2018
- Borowiecki Suspended One Game for Actions in Senators Game, nhl.com, October 24, 2018
- Borowiecki Suspended Three Games for Actions in Senators Game, nhl.com, October 29, 2018
- Lemieux Suspended Two Games for Actions in Jets Game, nhl.com, November 5, 2018
- Archibald Suspended Two Games for Actions in Coyotes Game, nhl.com, November 17, 2018
- Bertuzzi Suspended Two Games for Actions in Red Wings Game, nhl.com, December 3, 2018
- Giordano Suspended Two Games for Actions in Flames Game, nhl.com, December 7, 2018
- Lomberg to Have Hearing for Actions in Flames Game against Wild, nhl.com, December 7, 2018
- Lomberg Suspended One Game for Actions in Flames Game, nhl.com, December 7, 2018
- Hyman Suspended Two Games for Actions in Maple Leafs Game, nhl.com, December 9, 2018
- Khaira Suspended Two Games for Actions in Oilers Game against Blues, nhl.com, December 19, 2018
- Karlsson Suspended Two Games for Actions in Sharks Game against Kings, nhl.com, December 23, 2018
- Backes Suspended Three Games for Actions in Bruins Game against Devils, nhl.com, December 28, 2018
- Byron Suspended Three Games for Actions in Canadiens Game, nhl.com, January 16, 2019
- Johansen Suspended Two Games for Actions in Predators Game, nhl.com, January 18, 2019
- Capitals' Alex Ovechkin to Skip NHL All-Star Game, sportsnet.ca, January 2, 2019
- Montreal Canadiens Goalie Carey Price to Skip NHL All-Star Game Due to Injury, Global News, January 7, 2019
- Watson Placed in Stage Two of Substance Abuse/Behavioral Health Program, nhl.com, January 29, 2019
- Malkin Suspended One Game for Actions in Penguins Game against Flyers, nhl.com, February 12, 2019
- Gudas Suspended Two Games for Actions in Flyers Game against Lightning, nhl.com, February 20, 2019
- McDavid Suspended Two Games for Actions in Oilers Game against Islanders, nhl.com, February 22, 2019
- Gabriel Suspended One Game for Actions in Devils Game against Flyers, nhl.com, March 2, 2019
- Lowry Suspended Two Games for Actions in Jets game against Predators, nhl.com, March 2, 2019
- Voracek Suspended Two Games for actions in Flyers Game against Islanders, nhl.com, March 10, 2019
- Eichel Suspended Two Games for Actions in Sabres Game against Avalanche, nhl.com, March 10, 2019
- Pageau Suspended One Game for Actions in Senators Game against Canucks, nhl.com, March 21, 2019
- Gourde Suspended Two Games for Actions in Lightning Game, nhl.com, March 22, 2019
- Kucherov Suspended One Game for Actions in Lightning Game, nhl.com, April 13, 2019
- Kadri Suspended for Rest of First Round for Actions in Maple Leafs Game, nhl.com, April 15, 2019
- Thornton Suspended One Game for Actions in Sharks Game, nhl.com, April 15, 2019
- McAvoy Suspended One Game for Actions in Bruins Game vs. Blue Jackets, nhl.com, May 7, 2019
- Gulitti, Tom (May 30, 2019), Sundqvist Suspended, out for Blues in Game 3 of Cup Final, nhl.com
- Barbashev Suspended, out for Blues in Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final, nhl.com, June 7, 2019
- Predators' Austin Watson: Appeal Hearing Date Set, cbssports.com, September 20, 2018
- NHLPA Files Appeal of Wilson's 20-Game Suspension, sportsnet.ca, October 5, 2018
- Wilson's 20-Game Suspension Upheld by Commissioner Bettman, nhl.com, October 25, 2018
- NHLPA Files appeal on Behalf of Wilson, tsn.ca, October 26, 2018
- Watson Reinstated by NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, nhlpa.com, March 18, 2019
- Flyers' Jakub Voracek Appealing Two-Game Suspension, sportsnet.ca, March 11, 2019
- Voracek Two-Game Suspension Upheld on Appeal to Commissioner Bettman, nhl.com, March 13, 2019
- Clifford Fined for Actions in Kings-Wild Game, nhl.com, October 26, 2018
- Lucic Fined for Actions in Oilers Game against Lightning, nhl.com, November 7, 2018
- Morrissey Fined for Actions in Jets Game against Capitals, nhl.com, November 15, 2018
- Rantanen Fined for Diving/Embellishment in Avalanche Game against Bruins, nhl.com, November 21, 2018
- Cullen Fined for Actions in Penguins Game against Lightning, nhl.com, November 16, 2018
- Roussel Fined for Biting Vlasic in Canucks Game against Sharks, nhl.com, November 24, 2018
- Dunn Fined for Cross-Checking in Blues Game against Oilers, nhl.com, December 19, 2018
- Byfuglien Fined for Actions in Jets Game against Flames, nhl.com, December 28, 2018
- Danault Fined for Actions in Canadiens Game against Panthers, nhl.com, December 29, 2018
- Sergachev Fined for Actions in Lightning Game against Sabres, nhl.com, January 13, 2019
- Kucherov Fined for Actions in Lightning Game against Islanders, nhl.com, February 2, 2019
- Smith Fined for Actions in Senators Game against Penguins, nhl.com, February 2, 2019
- van Riemsdyk Fined $5,000 for Actions in Flyers Game against Kings, nhl.com, February 8, 2019
- Hagg fined for actions in Flyers game against Lightning, nhl.com, February 20, 2019
- Chiarot Fined for Actions in Jets Game against Coyotes, nhl.com, February 25, 2019
- Schwartz Fined for Actions in Blues Game against Hurricanes, nhl.com, March 2, 2019
- Ritchie Fined for Actions in Ducks Game against Canadiens, nhl.com, March 9, 2019
- Kreider Fined for Elbowing in Rangers Game against Canucks, nhl.com, March 14, 2019
- Meier Fined for Diving/Embellishment in Sharks Game against Predators, nhl.com, March 21, 2019
- Thornton Fined $2,500 for Actions in Sharks Game against Golden Knights, nhl.com, March 31, 2019
- Reaves Fined for Actions in Golden Knights Game against Sharks, nhl.com, March 31, 2019
- Miller Fined for Diving/Embellishment in Golden Knights Game vs. Sharks, nhl.com, April 4, 2019
- Getzlaf Fined for Actions in Ducks Game against Kings, nhl.com, April 7, 2019