The Department of Player Safety has one hearing today, but two other incidents last night have already been resolved. Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin and Los Angeles Kings forward Phillip Danault have both earned fines for actions in yesterday’s games.
For Drouin, a cross-check against Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin will cost him $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA. The incident happened partway through the third period, resulting in a five-minute major and game misconduct. Drouin delivered a hard retaliatory cross-check to the side of the head on a scrambled draw but will avoid suspension in this case.
Danault’s wallet meanwhile is $5,000 lighter today after a dangerous trip of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point last night. This was another occurrence of what appeared to be a slew foot, something that has been much more common this season. Brad Marchand and Kevin Labanc have both served suspensions for them, while others like P.K. Subban, Calvin de Haan, and Ryan Hartman have also earned fines.
Despite avoiding suspensions in these cases, Drouin and Danault will both have these incidents on their record for any future supplementary discipline. They will be considered and could result in increased punishments down the road.
Some of this garbage is totally unnecessary.