2019–20 NHL suspensions and fines

The following is a list of all suspensions and fines enforced in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2019–20 NHL season. It lists which players or coaches of what team have been punished for which offense and the amount of punishment they have received.

Based on each player's average annual salary, divided by number of days in the season (186) for non-repeat offenders and games (82) for repeat offenders, salary will be forfeited for the term of their suspension. Players' money forfeited due to suspension or fine goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund, while money forfeited by coaches, staff or organizations as a whole go to the NHL Foundation.[1]

Suspensions

† - suspension covered at least one 2019 NHL preseason game
‡ - suspension covered at least one 2020 postseason game
# - suspension was later reduced upon further review/successful appeal; information presented in italics
 R  - Player was considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (player had been suspended in the 18 months prior to this suspension)

Date of incident Offender Team(s) Offense(s) Date of action Length Salary forfeited1,2
October 19, 2014 Slava Voynov Los Angeles Kings Unacceptable off-ice conduct.[2] April 9, 20193
May 23, 2019[3]4 		82 games
+ playoffs‡#
41 games†4 		N/A2,5
September 9, 2019 Evgeny Kuznetsov Washington Capitals Inappropriate conduct.[4] September 14, 2019 3 games $180,645.162
September 29, 2019 Evander KaneR San Jose Sharks Physical abuse of officials.[5] (Slashing Linesman Kiel Murchison) October 1, 2019 3 games $256,097.56
October 17, 2019 Valentin Zykov Vegas Golden Knights Violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.[6]6 October 17, 2019 20 games $152,419.352
October 26, 2019 Adam LowryR Winnipeg Jets Boarding Oliver Kylington.[7] October 28, 2019 2 games $71,138.22
November 2, 2019 Milan Lucic Calgary Flames Roughing Kole Sherwood.[8] November 3, 2019 2 games $64,516.13
November 9, 2019 Nick Foligno Columbus Blue Jackets Elbowing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.[9] November 11, 2019 3 games $88,709.67
November 18, 2019 Garnet Hathaway Washington Capitals Spitting at Erik Gudbranson.[10] November 20, 2019 3 games $24,193.55
November 23, 2019 Robert BortuzzoR St. Louis Blues Cross-checking Viktor Arvidsson.[11] November 24, 2019 4 games $67,073.17
November 23, 2019 Alexander Kerfoot Toronto Maple Leafs Boarding Erik Johnson.[12] November 25, 2019 2 games $37,634.41
November 25, 2019 Erik Cernak Tampa Bay Lightning Elbowing Rasmus Dahlin.[13] November 26, 2019 2 games $7,500.00
December 15, 2019 Joel Farabee Philadelphia Flyers Interference against Mathieu Perreault.[14] December 16, 2019 3 games $14,919.35
December 31, 2019 Kurtis MacDermid Los Angeles Kings Illegal check to the head of Ivan Provorov.[15] January 3, 2020 2 games $7,258.06
January 1, 2020 Corey Perry Dallas Stars Elbowing Ryan Ellis.[16] January 3, 2020 5 games $40,322.58
January 11, 2020 Zack Kassian Edmonton Oilers Serving as the aggressor in an altercation with Matthew Tkachuk.[17] January 13, 2020 2 games $20,967.74
January 25, 2020 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals Automatic suspension for missing NHL All-Star Game.[18] December 27, 2019 1 game $53,763.442
January 25, 2020 Marc-Andre Fleury Vegas Golden Knights Automatic suspension for missing NHL All-Star Game.[19] January 4, 2020 1 game $45,698.922
January 25, 2020 Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins Automatic suspension for missing NHL All-Star Game.[20] January 13, 2020 1 game $34,946.242
February 8, 2020 Jeremy Lauzon Boston Bruins Illegal check to the head of Derek Stepan.[21] February 9, 2020 2 games $8,037.63
February 13, 2020 Zack KassianR Edmonton Oilers Kicking Erik Cernak.[22] February 14, 2020 7 games $166,463.41
February 14, 2020 Evander KaneR San Jose Sharks Elbowing Neal Pionk.[23] February 15, 2020 3 games $256,097.56
March 11, 2020 Brendan LemieuxR New York Rangers Interference against Joonas Donskoi.[24][25] July 20, 20207 2 games‡ N/A
August 1, 2020 Drake Caggiula Chicago Blackhawks Illegal check to the head of Tyler Ennis.[26] August 2, 2020 1 game‡ N/A
August 19, 2020 Matt Niskanen Philadelphia Flyers Cross-checking Brendan Gallagher.[27] August 20, 2020 1 game‡ N/A
September 4, 2020 Ryan Reaves Vegas Golden Knights Illegal check to the head of Tyler Motte.[28] September 5, 2020 1 game‡ N/A
September 9, 2020 Alex Killorn Tampa Bay Lightning Boarding Brock Nelson.[29] September 10, 2020 1 game‡ N/A
Player totals: 118 games‡
(112 regular + 6 postseason) 		$1,598,402.15

Notes

1.^ All figures are in US dollars.
2.^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Fines generated for games lost due to suspension for off-ice conduct are calculated uniquely and irrespective of repeat offender status.
3.^ Voynov was previously suspended indefinitely on October 20, 2014, for his actions.[30]
4.^ Voynov and the NHLPA appealed the suspension to a neutral arbitrator on April 20, 2019.[31] On May 23, 2019, NHL/NHLPA Neutral Discipline Arbitrator, Shyam Das, upheld NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's one-season (one-year) suspension, but the neutral arbitrator ruled that Voynov should be credited with having already served 41 games of his suspension during the 2018–19 NHL season. Accordingly, the suspension will remain in effect until 41 games of the 2019–20 NHL season have been served.[3]
5.^ Voynov did not have an active contract at the time of this ruling, and therefore did not forfeit any salary due to games lost.
6.^ Suspension accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health.
7.^ The precise parameters of Lemieux's suspension were originally delayed due to the suspension of the regular season due to COVID-19.[32]

Fines

Players can be fined up to 50% of one day's salary, up to a maximum of $10,000.00 for their first offense, and $15,000.00 for any subsequent offenses (player had been fined in the 12 months prior to this fine).[1] Coaches, non-playing personnel, and teams are not restricted to such maximums, though can still be treated as repeat offenders.

Fines for players/coaches fined for diving/embellishment are structured uniquely and are only handed out after non-publicized warnings are given to the player/coach for their first offense. For more details on diving/embellishment fines:

Diving/embellishment specifications
Incident Number1 Player Fine2 Coach Fine2
1 Warning (N/A) Warning (N/A)
2 $2,000 N/A
3 $3,000 N/A
4 $4,000 N/A
5 $5,000 $2,000
6 $5,000 $3,000
7 $5,000 $4,000
8+ $5,000 $5,000
  1. For coach incident totals, each citation issued to a player on his club counts toward his total.
  2. All figures are in US dollars.

Fines listed in italics indicate that was the maximum allowed fine.

Date of incident Offender Team Offense Date of action Amount1
September 26, 2019 Cedric Paquette Tampa Bay Lightning High-sticking Frank Vatrano.[33] September 27, 2019 $2,500.00
October 16, 2019 Nick Ritchie Anaheim Ducks Roughing Vladimir Sobotka.[34] October 17, 2019 $4,029.37
October 17, 2019 Darren Helm Detroit Red Wings Slashing Elias Lindholm.[35] October 18, 2019 $5,000.00
November 16, 2019 Oskar Sundqvist St. Louis Blues Charging John Gibson.[36] November 17, 2019 $7,392.47
December 3, 2019 Ryan Johansen Nashville Predators Elbowing Brayden Point.[37] December 4, 2019 $5,000.00
December 3, 2019 Evander Kane San Jose Sharks Elbowing Radko Gudas.[38] December 4, 2019 $5,000.00
December 7, 2019 Brady Tkachuk Ottawa Senators Cross-checking Scott Laughton.[39] December 7, 2019 $2,486.56
December 8, 2019 Brendan Lemieux New York Rangers Elbowing Cody Glass.[40] December 9, 2019 $2,486.56
December 18, 2019 Samuel Girard Colorado Avalanche Boarding Alex DeBrincat.[41] December 19, 2019 $1,957.88
December 21, 2019 Robby Fabbri Detroit Red Wings Spearing Alexander Kerfoot.[42] December 22, 2019 $2,419.35
December 30, 2019 Jean-Gabriel Pageau Ottawa Senators Roughing Evgeni Malkin.[43] December 31, 2019 $2,500.00
December 30, 2019 Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins High-sticking Jean-Gabriel Pageau.[44] December 31, 2019 $5,000.00
December 21, 2019 Alex Stalock Minnesota Wild Diving/Embellishment (second citation).2[45] January 1, 2020 $2,000.00
December 29, 2019 John Tortorella
(head coach) 		Columbus Blue Jackets Inappropriate comments against officials during a postgame press conference.3[46] January 1, 2020 $20,000.00
January 7, 2020 Nick Cousins Montreal Canadiens Boarding Mike Green.[47] January 8, 2020 $2,688.17
January 11, 2020 Jacob Trouba New York Rangers Slashing Vince Dunn.[48] January 12, 2020 $5,000.00
January 7, 2020 Viktor Arvidsson Nashville Predators Diving/Embellishment (second citation).4[49] January 17, 2020 $2,000.00
January 16, 2020 Ryan Lindgren New York Rangers Interference against Jordan Eberle.[50] January 17, 2020 $2,486.56
February 10, 2020 Antoine Roussel Vancouver Canucks Slashing Yannick Weber.[51] February 11, 2020 $5,000.00
February 11, 2020 Matt Dumba Minnesota Wild Slashing Ryan Reaves.[52] February 12, 2020 $5,000.00
February 12, 2020 Zdeno Chara Boston Bruins Cross-checking Brendan Gallagher.[53] February 13, 2020 $5,000.00
February 15, 2020 Claude Julien
(head coach) 		Montreal Canadiens Inappropriate comments against officials during a postgame press conference.[54] February 17, 2020 $10,000.00
February 20, 2020 Matt Niskanen Philadelphia Flyers Slashing Gustav Nyquist.[55] February 21, 2020 $5,000.00
February 20, 2020 Scott Sabourin Ottawa Senators Unsportsmanlike conduct against Mark Scheifele.[56] February 21, 2020 $1,881.72
February 25, 2020 John Hayden New Jersey Devils Cross-checking Tyler Bertuzzi.[57] February 26, 2020 $2,016.13
March 7, 2020 Roman Josi Nashville Predators Cross-checking Corey Perry.[58] March 8, 2020 $5,000.00
March 8, 2020 Oskar Sundqvist St. Louis Blues Roughing Adam Boqvist.[59] March 9, 2020 $5,000.00
August 2, 2020 Micheal Ferland Vancouver Canucks Spearing Ryan Hartman.[60] August 3, 2020 $5,000.00
August 2, 2020 Luke Kunin Minnesota Wild Unsportsmanlike conduct against Micheal Ferland.[60] August 3, 2020 $1,000.00
August 4, 2020 Mike Matheson Florida Panthers High-sticking Brock Nelson.[61] August 4, 2020 $2,500.00
August 12, 2020 Rod Brind'Amour
(head coach) 		Carolina Hurricanes Inappropriate comments against officials during a postgame press conference.5[62] August 12, 2020 $25,000.00
August 16, 2020 Max Pacioretty Vegas Golden Knights Slashing Alex DeBrincat.[63] August 16, 2020 $2,500.00
August 19, 2020 John TortorellaR
(head coach) 		Columbus Blue Jackets Inappropriate comments against officials during a postgame press conference.6[64] August 25, 2020 $25,000.00
August 6, 2020 Team Arizona Coyotes Violating the NHL's Combine Testing Policy.[65] August 26, 2020 N/A7
Totals: $184,844.77

Notes

1.^ All figures are in US dollars.
2.^ Stalock was issued his first citation following an incident on October 12, 2019.[45]
3.^ Tortorella was also assessed a conditional fine of $25,000 that would be assessed if he committed a second violation prior to December 29, 2020.[46]
4.^ Arvidsson was issued his first citation following an incident on December 27, 2019.[49]
5.^ Brind'Amour was also assessed a conditional fine of $25,000 that would be assessed if he committed a second violation prior to August 12, 2021.[62]
6.^ This fine is the collection of a conditional fine assessed January 1, 2020.3[64]
7.^ Arizona was forced to forfeit the club's 2nd-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and 1st-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft in lieu of a cash fine.[65]

Further reading

  • 2019–2020 NHL Official Rules (PDF), NHL, October 2019
  • NHL Department of Player Safety Education Videos, NHL, May 27, 2014, archived from the original on March 19, 2014
  • Glasner, Daniel (March 24, 2014), Goal: Transparent NHL Player Discipline. Assist: Labour Law, Canadian Lawyer, archived from the original on March 25, 2014, retrieved April 10, 2019

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Department of Player Safety FAQs, nhl.com, August 31, 2015
  2. ^ "Voynov Suspended for 2019-20 Season and 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Unacceptable Off-Ice Conduct". nhl.com. April 9, 2019.
  3. ^ a b NHL, NHLPA Statement on Voynov Suspension, nhl.com, May 23, 2019
  4. ^ "Kuznetsov of Capitals suspended three games for inappropriate conduct". nhl.com. September 14, 2019.
  5. ^ "Kane suspended three games for actions in Sharks game". nhl.com. October 1, 2019.
  6. ^ "Zykov of Golden Knights suspended 20 games". nhl.com. October 17, 2019.
  7. ^ "Lowry suspended two games for actions in Jets game against Flames". nhl.com. October 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "Lucic suspended two games for actions in Flames game against Blue Jackets". nhl.com. November 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Foligno of Blue Jackets suspended three games for elbowing". nhl.com. November 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "Hathaway of Capitals suspended three games for spitting incident". nhl.com. November 20, 2019.
  11. ^ "Bortuzzo of Blues suspended four games for cross-checking". nhl.com. November 24, 2019.
  12. ^ "Kerfoot of Maple Leafs suspended two games for boarding". nhl.com. November 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "Cernak suspended two games for Lightning for elbowing". nhl.com. November 26, 2019.
  14. ^ "Farabee of Flyers suspended three games for interference". nhl.com. December 16, 2019.
  15. ^ "MacDermid of Kings suspended two games for illegal check to the head". nhl.com. January 3, 2020.
  16. ^ "Perry of Stars suspended five games for elbowing". nhl.com. January 3, 2020.
  17. ^ "Kassian suspended two games for actions in Oilers game". nhl.com. January 13, 2020.
  18. ^ Gulitti, Tom (December 27, 2019), Ovechkin won't play in NHL All-Star Game, Capitals forward was captain, nhl.com
  19. ^ Fleury of Golden Knights withdraws from All-Star Game, nhl.com, January 4, 2020
  20. ^ Vasilevskiy named to Atlantic Division for NHL All-Star Game, nhl.com, January 13, 2020
  21. ^ Lauzon suspended two games for actions in Bruins game, nhl.com, February 9, 2020
  22. ^ Kassian suspended seven games for actions in Oilers game, nhl.com, February 14, 2020
  23. ^ Kane suspended three games for actions in Sharks game, nhl.com, February 15, 2020
  24. ^ Lemieux of Rangers to be suspended for hit on Avalanche forward Donskoi, nhl.com, March 13, 2020
  25. ^ Lemieux suspended two games in Qualifiers for actions in Rangers game, nhl.com, July 20, 2020
  26. ^ Caggiula suspended one game in Qualifiers for actions in Blackhawks game, nhl.com, August 2, 2020
  27. ^ Niskanen suspended one game for actions in Flyers game, nhl.com, August 20, 2020
  28. ^ Reaves suspended one game for actions in Golden Knights game, nhl.com, September 5, 2020
  29. ^ Killorn suspended one game for actions in Lightning game, nhl.com, September 10, 2020
  30. ^ Kings Defenseman Voynov Suspended Indefinitely, nhl.com, October 20, 2014
  31. ^ Slava Voynov Appeals Suspension for 2019-20 season, sportnet.ca, April 10, 2019
  32. ^ @NHLPlayerSafety (March 13, 2020). "Following a hearing today, the DOPS has determined that Brendan Lemieux will be suspended for his hit on Joonas Donskoi Wednesday night. The precise parameters of the suspension will be determined and announced once resumption of play guidelines have been established" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Paquette fined for actions in Lightning game against Panthers, nhl.com, September 27, 2019
  34. ^ Ritchie fined for actions in Ducks game against Sabres, nhl.com, October 17, 2019
  35. ^ Helm fined for actions in Red Wings game against Flames, nhl.com, October 18, 2019
  36. ^ Sundqvist of Blues fined for charging Gibson, nhl.com, November 17, 2019
  37. ^ Johansen fined for actions in Predators game against Lightning, nhl.com, December 4, 2019
  38. ^ Kane fined for actions in Sharks game against Capitals, nhl.com, December 4, 2019
  39. ^ Tkachuk fined for actions in Senators game against Flyers, nhl.com, December 7, 2019
  40. ^ Lemieux fined $2,000 for actions in Rangers game against Golden Knights, nhl.com, December 9, 2019
  41. ^ Girard fined for actions in Avalanche game against Blackhawks, nhl.com, December 19, 2019
  42. ^ Fabbri fined for actions in Red Wings game against Maple Leafs, nhl.com, December 22, 2019
  43. ^ Pageau fined for actions in Senators game against Penguins, nhl.com, December 31, 2019
  44. ^ Malkin fined for actions in Penguins game against Senators, nhl.com, December 31, 2019
  45. ^ a b Stalock fined for actions in Wild game against Jets, nhl.com, January 1, 2020
  46. ^ a b Tortorella fined for actions after Blue Jackets game against Blackhawks, nhl.com, January 1, 2020
  47. ^ Cousins fined for actions in Canadiens game against Red Wings, nhl.com, January 8, 2020
  48. ^ Trouba fined for actions in Rangers game against Blues, nhl.com, January 12, 2020
  49. ^ a b Arvidsson fined for actions in Predators game against Anaheim, nhl.com, January 17, 2020
  50. ^ Lindgren fined for actions in Rangers game against Islanders, nhl.com, January 17, 2020
  51. ^ Roussel fined for actions in Canucks game against Predators, nhl.com, February 11, 2020
  52. ^ Dumba fined for actions in Wild game against Golden Knights, nhl.com, February 12, 2020
  53. ^ Chara fined for actions in Bruins game against Canadiens, nhl.com, February 13, 2020
  54. ^ Canadiens' Julien Fined $10,000, nhl.com, February 17, 2020
  55. ^ Niskanen fined for actions in Flyers game against Blue Jackets, nhl.com, February 21, 2020
  56. ^ Sabourin fined for actions in Senators game against Jets, nhl.com, February 21, 2020
  57. ^ Hayden fined for actions in Devils game against Red Wings, nhl.com, February 26, 2020
  58. ^ Josi fined for actions in Predators game against Stars, nhl.com, March 8, 2020
  59. ^ Sundqvist fined for actions in Blues game against Blackhawks, nhl.com, March 9, 2020
  60. ^ a b Ferland of Canucks, Kunin of Wild fined for actions in Game 1, nhl.com, August 3, 2020
  61. ^ Matheson fined for actions in Panthers game against Islanders, nhl.com, August 4, 2020
  62. ^ a b Brind'Amour fined for actions in Hurricanes game against Bruins, nhl.com, August 12, 2020
  63. ^ Pacioretty fined for actions in Golden Knights game, nhl.com, August 16, 2020
  64. ^ a b Tortorella fined for actions after Blue Jackets Game 5 loss to Lightning, nhl.com, August 25, 2020
  65. ^ a b NHL announces sanctions to Coyotes for violating combine testing policy, nhl.com, August 26, 2020