Boy, this one is going to hurt David Legwand’s wallet about as much as it did Malkin’s ‘stick-and-pucks’…
Okay, maybe not.
Legwand was fined $5,000 for hitting Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin below the belt with the butt-end of his stick late in Thursday’s game between Pittsburgh and Detroit. He did it right in front of referee Steve Kozari (#40), who promptly slapped him with a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
Legwand is making $4.5 million this season, which works out to $54,878 per regular season game. He averages about 18 minutes of action per game. Based on that, he gets about $3,048 for every minute he is expected to be on the ice. He earned over $15,000 while he was serving that penalty, for which he was later fined just $5,000.
In case you’re wondering, $5,000 is the maximum fine that can be handed out as supplementary discipline without requiring a phone hearing, per Section 18.5 of the CBA.
Boy, that’s gotta hurt the checkbook. Hope he can still make this month’s rent.
From the NHL Rule Book:
Rule 58 – Butt-ending
58.1 Butt-ending – The action whereby a player uses the shaft of the stick, above the upper hand, to check an opposing player in any manner or jabs or attempts to jab an opposing player with this part of the stick.
58.3 Major Penalty – A major penalty shall be imposed on a player who butt-ends an opponent.
58.5 Game Misconduct Penalty – When a major penalty is imposed for butt-ending, a game misconduct penalty must also be assessed.
58.6 Fines and Suspensions – When a major penalty and game misconduct are imposed under this rule, an automatic fine of one hundred dollars ($100) will be imposed. If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion (refer to Rule 28).
Detroit Red Wings forward David Legwand has been fined $5,000 for butt-ending Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin in NHL Game No. 1046 in Detroit on Thursday, March 20, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 16:14 of the third period. Legwand was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for butt-ending.
The fine money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
