NHL fines Paul Maurice for suggesting refs had bias towards Leafs
Paul Maurice is looking a little lighter in the pocketbook today after a series of comments were made following his team’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this week.
Maurice suggested his Panthers side received an “inordinate” amount of penalties in Florida’s 5-4 loss to the Leafs on Tuesday night when asked his thoughts on the game’s officiating.
Florida picked up 18 penalty minutes on the night via nine minor penalties, while the Leafs were awarded 12 via six minors.
And the NHL didn’t appear to take too kindly to those comments, fining Maurice $25,000 for his statements.
“Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has been fined $25,000 for comments about officiating during a media availability following NHL Game No. 706 in Toronto on Tuesday, Jan. 17,” the NHL said in a statement.
All league fines go to the NHL Foundation, which exists “to make donations to other registered charities and organizations whose purpose is to perpetuate the game of hockey and other matters of concern to the NHL.”
In other words, Maurice made a $25,000 donation to a series of charities for his comments.
Maurice also had dissenting opinions on a hit from Panthers defenceman Radko Gudas, who was giving a charging penalty in the second period on Leafs forward Pierre Engvall.
âNo problem with the guy going to the net at all. That is hockey. I donât know what the hell those guys [the refs] are doing tonight, but it wasnât Florida Panther-friendly,â Maurice told reporters after the game. “It is hard to describe the call. Usually, they have enough there to argue and come over to say, âHey, the stick got up.â Radko Gudas threw as clean of a hit as you can level â stick on stick, body on body. It is not a charge. They are both going in the same direction.â
It was the first of four meetings of the season for the Leafs and Panthers, with the teams next scheduled to face off on March 23 in Florida.
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