The Department of Player Safety has decided on a punishment for Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev after he cross-checked Ducks defenseman Josh Mahura in the closing moments of last night’s 4-2 Kings victory. Kaliyev was initially given a major penalty and a game misconduct, but that was obviously not the end of the punishment as the Department of Player Safety has handed Kaliyev a fine of $2,235.42, the maximum allowable under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Things can get testy between the Kings and Ducks, two heated rivals, but the league has determined that Kaliyev’s actions last night went too far.
Kaliyev, 20, is a player known more for his goal-scoring prowess than his feistiness or willingness to engage in fine-worthy hockey. But last night was obviously an exception, as his tussle with Mahura has ended in a punishment directly from the Department of Player Safety. Kaliyev was charged with 15 penalty minutes on the play, nearly doubling his season total, which was 22 penalty minutes before the incident with Mahura.
Kaliyev has to consider himself lucky to avoid suspension because the Kings are in a crucial final stretch of their season. They are seeking to put themselves out of reach of the Vegas Golden Knights and finally lock up their spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, so Kaliyev missing out on an important late-season contest would be a disappointment for the young top prospect. Kaliyev has 14 goals and 27 points in 78 games this season and has flashed a real knack for scoring. Kaliyev, the Kings, and the Department of Player Safety are all likely hoping this fine will not be a signal of things to come for the young sniper.
While it was dirty and unnecessary, everyone seems to have missed that he got cross checked in the face by the same guy he hit seconds before he hit him back. He shouldn’t have done it and I’m glad Getzlaf laid out the retaliation, how did the refs miss that even when they went to video review. And then the league not addressing it…. I think the fine is fair but the whole story isn’t there.
Earlier somehow the Kings didn’t have a power play after Zegras cross checked Grundstrom. They called a phantom slash on Grundstrom. Thankfully the Kings got the much needed win in the end.
The cheap shot by Mahura lead up to this, but Seeing Kaliyev chase him down and dish out his own cheap shot was encouraging for a Kings team that doesn’t usually play a tough game. I fully expected Kaliyev to get at least a 1 game suspension. Apparently, they must have considered the cross check (roughing, as called by the refs) to his face by Mahura!
Quack!
Josh Mahura should have gotten a fine as well, since Mahura was the player that initially cross checked Arthur Kaliyev in the face.
Kaliyev‘s mistake was the retaliatory crosscheck to the back of Mahura’s head.
Easy there turbo. This was once incident that was pure retaliation. No “signal of things to come”. Stop trying make something out of nothing.