Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen was fined for diving/embellishment on April 30.
He disagreed with the fine, and wrote a letter to protest the decision.
“I was furious, and called the guy who’s leading the department that handles these fines [NHL Hockey Operations]. I told him that I disagree with the fine.”
“The guy said they have a nine member board that votes on this stuff. I wrote an email there where I explained the play and what caused me to fall down. I showed it to my teammates as well and they said I might make it into law school after my career”.
“It was a ‘toe pick’ as they say in English – the tip of my skate blade got caught in the ice which led to me falling down. It probably looked like I embellished, but that’s what happened. Then they overturned the ruling and removed my fine.”
The NHL reportedly rescinded the fine, presumably giving Rantanen his $2000 back.
While Rantanen may have been right in this case, he’s still found himself on the wrong side of the diving/embellishment rule in the past. He received a warning for diving/embellishment against the Coyotes on March 23. During the 2018-19 season, Rantanen was cited for diving against the Rangers on October 16, then again in November against the Bruins, resulting in a $2000 fine.
(Stick tap to Reddit’s r/hockey)
