NHL hands Leafs' McCabe big fine for cross-checking Marchand
Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe is feeling a little bit lighter in the pocketbook today.
On Friday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that McCabe had been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for cross-checking Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand in Thursday night’s 4-1 loss.
Toronto’s Jake McCabe has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for cross-checking Boston’s Brad Marchand.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 8, 2024
The incident came near the end boards during the first period of the game between the two Atlantic Division rivals at Boston’s TD Garden, which started a bit of a brouhaha afterwards.
McCabe with the cross check on Marchand. 🫣 pic.twitter.com/MK9YVyOaRn
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 8, 2024
McCabe was not penalized on the play but picked up another penalty earlier in the period for an interference call on Jake DeBrusk.
“If you take the physicality of the game with where we were at with our energy today… While we don’t like the result at all, I liked that our guys stood in there,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said post-game.
Marchand, a longtime foe of the Leafs, was also involved in a collision that took Toronto forward Matthew Knies out of the game. But while Keefe was frustrated earlier in the season for his team’s lack of response to a play from Marchand that injured Toronto defenceman Timothy Liljegren back in November, he didn’t carry the same tone last night.
“I think it is tough guys who are kind of going for the same ice and don’t really see each other,” Keefe added. “I think their guy realized they were on the tracks quicker than our guy did and prepared for it. I think that’s all I see there.”
The Leafs return to action on Saturday night when they visit the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Puck drop for that contest is set for 7 pm ET and will be the first matchup for the Leafs following today’s NHL trade deadline.