Frans Nielsen of the New York Islanders is $5,000 poorer today (Bridget Samuels/Flickr)
Islanders forward Frans Nielsen has been hit with a $5,000 fine for slashing Martin Hanzal of the Phoenix Coyotes.
In the third period, with the Isles leading 6-1 at home, things got chippy. First, Coyotes captain Shane Doan went at it with Islander Colin MacDonald. Moments later, Hanzal cross-checked Nielsen into the boards. The Islander forward came up swinging, taking a two-handed chop at Hanzal’s leg.
Nielsen was given a two-minute minor penalty for the slash. Apparently, the league felt that wasn’t enough, as they tacked on a $5,000 fine.
While it’s nice to see the Department of Player Safety penalize Nielsen for his actions, this was barely even a slap on the wrist. The guy makes $2.75 million per year, which works out to over $30k per game. He earned $1,117 during the two minutes he sat in the box serving the penalty.
Yeah, that’s not going to hurt too bad.
