The NHL has enforced suspensions on Tampa Bay’s Scott Sabourin for four games and J.J. Moser for two following their actions during the Lightning’s pre-season final against the Panthers in Sunrise, Florida. Alongside the suspensions, the Lightning organization has been fined $100,000 US, with head coach Jon Cooper facing a $25,000 penalty, as stated by the NHL.
To address the player shortage, Tampa Bay brought up six players from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse, New York. These call-ups collectively accrued 77 penalty minutes during the game, with five of them receiving a match penalty, misconduct, or game misconduct.
As per the NHL’s decision on Monday, Sabourin will lose $16,145.84, equivalent to approximately $850 for each second played during the eventful game, while Moser will forfeit $35,156.26.
Sabourin’s suspension timeline remains uncertain since he was reassigned to Syracuse on Monday. Notably, Sabourin, who participated for a mere 19 seconds in the game, received a match penalty early on for engaging with Florida’s Aaron Ekblad, setting the tone for a chaotic match that saw a total of 65 penalties, 13 game misconducts, and 312 penalty minutes distributed.
Coach Cooper expressed astonishment at the situation, stating, “That was a first for me. I think we had more coaches than players on the bench at one point.”
Moser’s suspension was the result of boarding Panthers’ forward Jesper Boqvist during the same game, resulting in a major penalty and game misconduct. The game was marred by so many penalties that the officials lost track of ejections, leading to confusion over player eligibility and scoring.
Florida forward Evan Rodrigues characterized the game as descending into chaos, remarking, “It got silly. It got stupid by the end of it. It wasn’t really hockey out there.”
Sabourin was part of a group of six players called up by Tampa Bay for the game, following a previous pre-season matchup between the Lightning and Panthers that saw 49 penalties and 186 penalty minutes.
Despite the physicality of the game, Ekblad, who left due to the hit from Sabourin, returned to practice on Monday and is anticipated to play in the season opener as the two-time Stanley Cup champions face Chicago at home on Tuesday.