The NHL has imposed a four-game suspension on Tampa Bay forward Scott Sabourin and a two-game suspension on defenseman J.J. Moser for their conduct during the Lightning’s pre-season last game against the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. In addition, the NHL fined the Lightning organization $100,000 US and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper $25,000; however, no further details were provided.
To compensate for the suspended players, Tampa Bay called up six players from their American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., for the game. These players collectively accrued 77 penalty minutes, with five of them receiving a match penalty, misconduct, or game misconduct during the match.
Following the NHL’s ruling on Monday, Sabourin will forfeit $16,145.84, equivalent to approximately $850 for each second played in the penalty-heavy game on Saturday. Moser will incur a loss of $35,156.26.
The timing of Sabourin’s suspension remains uncertain as he was returned to Syracuse by the Lightning on Monday. Notably, Sabourin participated in just one NHL game last season.
During Saturday’s game, Sabourin, who was on the ice for a mere 19 seconds, received a match penalty for targeting Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad within the first few minutes of the game. This incident marked the beginning of a tumultuous match, which saw a total of 65 penalties called, 13 game misconducts issued, and 312 penalty minutes accumulated.
At one juncture, the Lightning found themselves with only three skaters on their bench, prompting Coach Cooper to comment post-game that they had more coaches than players at one point.
Moser’s suspension stemmed from boarding Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist in the same game, resulting in a major penalty and game misconduct for Moser.
The game witnessed an excessive number of penalties, to the extent that the on-ice officials lost track of player ejections. Florida’s Niko Mikkola was mistakenly credited with an assist during the third period, which was later nullified as Mikkola had been ejected earlier and ineligible to play.
Florida forward Evan Rodrigues criticized the chaotic game, describing it as “silly” and “stupid,” noting that it deviated from regular hockey.
Sabourin was among the six players called up by Tampa Bay on Friday for the Saturday game. This move followed another pre-season game between the Lightning and Panthers, which saw 49 penalties and 186 penalty minutes.
Despite Ekblad exiting Saturday’s game after Sabourin’s hit, he returned to practice on Monday and is anticipated to play as the two-time Stanley Cup champions open their season at home against Chicago on Tuesday.
