The NHL’s Department of Player Safety is getting in some preseason reps, issuing a fine to Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Xhekaj was fined $3,385.42 for an altercation with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Cedric Pare during Saturday’s game in Montreal. 

During the first period, Pare caught Canadiens winger Patrik Laine with a knee as he entered the Leafs zone. The Toronto forward looked to try to stand him up at the blueline, moving his left knee into Laine’s lane, sending him flying.

 


 

Laine was injured on the play; he was helped off the ice and did not return. No penalty was handed out on what the officials may have determined was incidental contact.  The NHL rule book does not require intent for a kneeing penalty. 

Rule 50 – Kneeing: Kneeing is the act of a player leading with his knee and in some cases extending his leg outwards to make contact with his opponent.

50.2 Minor Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a minor penalty, based on the severity of the infraction, to a player guilty of kneeing an opponent.

50.3 Major Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a major penalty, based on the severity of the infraction, to a player guilty of kneeing an opponent.

50.4 Match Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent by kneeing.

 

Xhekaj went looking for revenge, jumping Pare on his next shift.  The Habs blueliner was issued a minor penalty  and ten-minute misconduct for instigating, five minutes for fighting, and a game misconduct for acting as the aggressor in an altercation. From Rule 46:

The aggressor in an altercation shall be the player who continues to throw punches in an attempt to inflict punishment on his opponent who is in a defenseless position or who is an unwilling combatant.

A player who is deemed to be both the instigator and aggressor of an altercation shall be assessed an instigating minor penalty, a major penalty for fighting, a ten-minute misconduct (instigator) and a game misconduct penalty (aggressor).

His fine is the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement without a formal hearing. Xhekaj has not previously been fined nor suspended by the National Hockey League.

 

 

This is the first disciplinary action taken by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety this preseason. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs won Saturday’s game 2-1. Referees were Francis Charron (#6) and Ghislain Hebert (#22) with linesmen Michel Cormier (#76) and Mark Shewchyk (#92).