Former Canuck Oliver Ekman-Larsson handed fine by NHL Department of Player Safety
Former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was handed fine by NHL's Department of Player Safety on Tuesday.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson found himself in a bit of hot water during last night's game between his current club, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning on Amazon Prime Video.
Early on in the third period, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is in the neutral zone trying to negate the Lightning from entering the Maple Leafs' end, comes across to lay a big reverse hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel.
As Ekman-Larsson goes to make the hit, his back appears to make contact with the head of Jake Guentzel, who fell to the ice clutching his face. While some people were thinking Ekman-Larsson would receive a game misconduct, the officials on the ice gave him a two-minute minor for interference.
After reviewing the incident, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety determined that the reverse hit by Oliver Ekman-Larsson was worthy of supplemental discipline.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced that they've handed a fine of $5,000 USD to Oliver Ekman-Larsson for interference.
Ekman-Larsson, a native of Karlskrona, Sweden, joined the Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent back in July, signing a four-year contract one week after winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. So far this season, Ekman-Larsson has played pretty well, registering four assists, six penalty minutes and is a plus-three in six games.
