The Department of Player Safety has decided that Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber will not face a suspension, but does have to fork over a few dollars. Weber has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for his slash on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov last night.
As Kucherov glided past the Montreal net, Weber delivered a slash to the back of his leg that sent the Lightning forward tumbling into the corner. There was no penalty on the play and Kucherov did not suffer a serious injury. A fine will go on Weber’s supplementary discipline record though, meaning in deciding punishment for any future incidents, this will be taken into account.
Just yesterday, commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the concerns expressed by many fans over the level of officiating in the playoffs this season, by saying that the NHL has “not only the best hockey officials in the world, they are the best officials in any sport.” It is these incidents that do not go penalized on the ice that frustrate so many fans, given they result in supplementary discipline afterward.
Seven penalties were called in a 5-1 Tampa Bay Lightning win on Monday. It will be interesting to see if this fine draws any increased attention on Weber from the referees in game two Wednesday night.
Just think, Webs, if you had #43 on your back, you would’ve been free and clear… Well, maybe not. After all, you do have that patented evil smirk that is a defining feature.
Would it have still been a fine if the ref actually called it?
@Eaton Harass – It *might* have been, if Chris Lee was officiating, but rumor had it he was in a forest waiting to see if a falling redwood tree would make noise with nobody else around. That, and give it 2 for diving, then mumbled something about a “make-up call” and “rule book, my ass!”, as he trudged back out of the forest…
Happened right in front of a ref, no call. Mercy. Very similar to the DuClair chop no call in round 1 on Kutch. Unnecessary by Weber. He is better than that unless that slim Cory Perry has rubbed off on him.
Slime
That Bettman has the temerity to say that is laughable. Maybe you could place an argument (poor one) that NHL refs are the best refs of all the major sports but let’s be honest that’s saying one pile of shit smells better than the rest. But after the Wilson incident and these playoffs he should just stick to “our refs are dedicated to enforcing the NHL’s rules” or some neutral shit like that. Don’t treat us like schmucks and try to tell us they’re the best. All these non called incidents are always done RIGHT IN FRONT OF A REF. It’s a joke. The refereeing in the NHL is a joke. The department of player safety is a joke. Bettman is a gigantic joke
You bet he is….real fans boo this bung hole every year at the Cup presentation.
The owners love him with all that expansion money rolling in.