Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy has been fined $7,812.50 for a cross-check to the face of the Edmonton Oilers’ Trent Frederic that saw him ejected from Thursday’s Game 2.
The cross-check came 5:35 into overtime wtih the score tied at 4-4. The two players battled along the boards in the Edmonton zone. As the puck popped up into the air, Roy delivered a cross-check just below Frederic’s visor. The Oilers’ forward left the ice for medical attention but later returned to the game.
“Very atypical of Nic,” said Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy. “But they called it and it was the right call.”
Roy was issued a major penalty for cross-checking along with a mandatory game misconduct by referees Gord Dwyer and Francis Charron, who reviewed the play before confirming their initial call.
Rule 59 covers cross-checking:
Cross-checking [is] the action of using the shaft of the stick between the two hands to forcefully check an opponent.
A major penalty, at the discretion of the Referee based on the severity of the contact, shall be imposed on a player
who “cross checks” an opponent. When a major penalty is assessed for cross-checking, an automatic game misconduct penalty shall be imposed on the offending player.
The Oilers failed to capitalize on the five-minute power play but eventually went on to win the game on a goal by Leon Draisaitl.
Roy’s fine exceeds the $5,000 that is often said as being the ‘maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.’ Fines are capped at 50% of one day’s salary, with a maximum of $5,000 without a hearing. If a hearing takes place, the league can issue a fine up to $10,000, which is how Roy’s fine came to be the full value of half a day’s regular season salary. Players do not receive a salary during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Edmonton leads Vegas 2-0 in their best-of-seven series. Game 3 is Saturday; Roy and Frederick are both expected to be in the lineup, and the refs will be keeping an eye on both for possible retaliation.
