Milan Lucic was not happy with a late-game penalty called against him with the Bruins trailing by a goal. He let the officials — and the fans — know it. That reaction has cost him $5000.
Lucic’s hit on Emelin (via boston.com)
With the Bruins trailing 5-4, Lucic drove Montreal’s Alexei Emelin into the boards. Referee Tim Peel’s arm shot up immediately. Lucic protested the call. Once he got to the penalty box, he continued to voice his displeasure with the call and offer a display of his general dislike for Habs fans.
Lucic’s Penalty Box Gesture (via boston.com)
Sorry, Milan, that’s going to cost you. The NHL’s hit him with a $5000 fine – the maximum to a player under the CBA – for the incident. Lucic’s making $6 million this season, which works out to about $73,000 per game. He ‘earned’ more than his fine amount in just over five minutes. Relative to an average US salary of around $70k, that equates to a $58 fine.
The Canadiens scored an empty-net power play goal while Lucic was in the box to go up 6-4. Lucic, now even more incensed, resumed his tirade against the officials as he skated across the ice. Referee Tim Peel had heard enough, and sent him to the locker room with a 10-minute misconduct penalty. Boston coach Claude Julien had a quick word with referee Tim Peel as the two headed off the ice. Julien did not comment on the discussion with the officials after the game.
Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville was fined for a similar gesture in last year’s playoffs. Quenneville’s fine – $25,000 – was much more severe, since there’s no CBA to limit fines on coaches.
Here’s the whole play, from the hit to the ‘gesture’:
From the NHL:
Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic has been fined $5,000 for an obscene gesture made during Game No. 53 in Montreal on Thursday, Oct. 16, the National Hockey League’s Hockey Operations Department announced today. The fine money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
