2015–16 NHL suspensions and fines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of all suspensions and fines enforced in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2015–16 NHL season. It lists which players or coaches of what team have been punished for which offense and the amount of punishment they have received.

Based on each player's average annual salary, divided by number of days in the season (186) for first time offenders and games (82) for repeat offenders, salary will be forfeited for the term of their suspension. Players' money forfeited due to suspension or fine goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund, while money forfeited by coaches, staff or organizations as a whole go to the NHL Foundation.

Suspensions[edit]

- suspension covered at least one 2016 post-season game

# - Suspension was later reduced upon further review/successful appeal; information presented in italics

 R  - Player was considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (player had been suspended in the 18 months prior to this suspension)

Date of Incident Offender Team(s) Offense(s) Date of Action Length Salary Forfeited1
October 3, 2015 Raffi Torres San Jose Sharks Illegal check to the head of Jakob Silfverberg.[1] October 5, 2015 41 games $440,860.29
October 4, 2015 Zack Kassian Montreal Canadiens Suspended indefinitely for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.[2] 2 October 5, 2015 31 games $602,150.54
October 15, 2015 Nikita Nesterov Tampa Bay Lightning Boarding Curtis McKenzie.[3] October 16, 2015 2 games $7,983.88
October 16, 2015 Tyson Barrie Colorado Avalanche Charging and interference against Simon Despres.[4] October 17, 2015 3 games $41,935.47
October 22, 2015 Jason Demers Dallas Stars Elbowing Nick Bonino.[5] October 23, 2015 2 games $36,559.14
October 31, 2015 Mark Stone Ottawa Senators Illegal check to the head of Landon Ferraro.[6] November 2, 2015 2 games $37,634.40
November 12, 2015 Gabriel Landeskog Colorado Avalanche Illegal check to the head of Brad Marchand.[7] November 13, 2015 2 games $59,907.84
November 27, 2015 Brandon Dubinsky Columbus Blue Jackets Cross-checking Sidney Crosby.[8] November 28, 2015 1 game $31,451.61
December 1, 2015 Radko Gudas Philadelphia Flyers Illegal check to the head of Mika Zibanejad.[9] December 2, 2015 3 games $15,994.62
December 11, 2015 Nate Thompson Anaheim Ducks Illegal check to the head of Justin Faulk.[10] December 14, 2015 3 games $25,806.45
December 20, 2015 Max Talbot Boston Bruins Interference against Jiri Tlusty.[11] December 21, 2015 2 games $19,354.84
December 29, 2015 Brad Marchand Boston Bruins Clipping Mark Borowiecki.[12] December 30, 2015 3 games $164,634.15
January 5, 2016 Zach Sill Washington Capitals Boarding Adam McQuaid.[13] January 6, 2016 2 games $6,182.80
January 7, 2016 Marcus Johansson Washington Capitals Illegal check to the head of Thomas Hickey.[14] January 8, 2016 2 games $40,322.58
January 10, 2016 Matt Hendricks Edmonton Oilers Boarding Aaron Ekblad.[15] January 11, 2016 3 games $29,838.72
January 12, 2016 Bobby Farnham New Jersey Devils Interference against Dmitrij Jaskin.[16] January 13, 2016 4 games $12,365.60
January 23, 2016 Milan Lucic Los Angeles Kings Roughing Kevin Connauton.[17] January 24, 2016 1 game $32,258.06
January 26, 2016 Shawn Horcoff Anaheim Ducks Violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.[18] 3 January 26, 2016 20 games $366,935.48
January 27, 2016 Dennis Wideman Calgary Flames Physical abuse of official Don Henderson.[19][20] February 3, 2016
March 11, 2016 [21]
20 games#
10 games 4
$564,516.20
$282,258.10
January 31, 2016 Alex Ovechkin Washington Capitals Automatic suspension for missing NHL All-Star Game.[22] January 28, 2016 1 game N/A
January 31, 2016 Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks Automatic suspension for missing NHL All-Star Game.[22] January 28, 2016 1 game N/A
February 6, 2016 Drew Stafford Winnipeg Jets High-sticking Nick Holden.[23] February 8, 2016 1 game $23,387.10
February 18, 2016 Leo Komarov Toronto Maple Leafs Elbowing Ryan McDonagh.[24] February 19, 2016 3 games $47,580.66
February 22, 2016 Ryan Reaves St. Louis Blues Boarding Matt Tennyson.[25] February 24, 2016 3 games $18,145.17
February 28, 2016 Zac Rinaldo Boston Bruins Illegal check to the head of Cedric Paquette.[26] March 1, 2016 5 games $51,829.25
March 3, 2016 Max Domi Arizona Coyotes Automatic suspension for instigating a fight during the final five minutes of a game.[27] March 4, 2016 1 game $4,641.58
March 8, 2016 Darnell Nurse Edmonton Oilers Aggressing Roman Polak.[28] March 10, 2016 3 games $13,924.74
March 9, 2016 Jarred Tinordi Arizona Coyotes Violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.[29] 5 March 9, 2016 20 games $207,439.02
March 9, 2016 Gabriel Landeskog Colorado Avalanche Cross-checking Simon Despres.[30] March 10, 2016 3 games $203,832.75
March 13, 2016 Dalton Prout Columbus Blue Jackets Punching an unsuspecting Nikita Kucherov.[31] March 15, 2016 1 game $5,779.57
March 16, 2016 Chris VandeVelde Philadelphia Flyers Elbowing Jonathan Toews.[32] March 18, 2016 2 games $7,661.30
March 22, 2016 Jared Boll Columbus Blue Jackets Interference against Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.[33] March 24, 2016 4 games $82,926.84
March 29, 2016 Jake Virtanen Vancouver Canucks Interference against Roman Polak.[34] March 30, 2016 2 games $9,614.70
March 29, 2016 Duncan Keith Chicago Blackhawks High-sticking Charlie Coyle.[35] April 1, 2016 6 games
(5 regular season + 1 post-season)
$148,883.35
April 2, 2016 Nazem Kadri Toronto Maple Leafs Cross-checking Luke Glendening.[36] April 4, 2016 4 games $200,000.00
April 18, 2016 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Philadelphia Flyers Checking Dmitry Orlov from behind.[37] April 19, 2016 1 game N/A
April 19, 2016 Andrew Shaw Chicago Blackhawks Using a homophobic slur towards an official.[38] 6 April 20, 2016 1 game N/A
April 24, 2016 Brayden Schenn Philadelphia Flyers Charging T.J. Oshie.[39] April 26, 2016 3 games7 N/A
April 30, 2016 Brooks Orpik Washington Capitals Interference against Olli Maatta.[40] May 1, 2016 3 games N/A
May 2, 2016 Kris Letang Pittsburgh Penguins Interference against Marcus Johansson.[41] May 3, 2016 1 game N/A
Player totals: 203 games
(196 regular season + 7 post-season)
$3,234,519.72
  1. All figures are in US dollars.
  2. Suspension accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health - Stage 2. Suspension completed only upon being cleared for on-ice competition by the program administrators.[2] Kassian was reinstated by the NHL on December 15, 2015 after missing 31 games.[42]
  3. Suspension accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health.[18]
  4. Wideman's original suspension was for 20 games. Suspension was appealed by Wideman and the NHLPA on February 3, 2016. On February 17, 2016, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced he had heard the appeal and was upholding the original 20 game suspension levied to Wideman.[43] The NHLPA then appealed to neutral arbitrator.[44] On March 11, 2016, NHL/NHLPA Neutral Discipline Arbitrator, James Oldham, overruled the NHL and Bettman's 20 game suspension down to 10 games.[21] Though Wideman had already missed 19 of his originally assessed 20 games before Oldham's decision was made, his suspension will stand as 10 games in the NHL records and his salary was refunded for the 9 games he missed.[45]
  5. Suspension accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health. Only sixteen games remained in the Arizona Coyotes season at the time of the suspension, so the remaining four games were served at the start of the 2016–17 NHL season; as he was mid-suspension, Tinordi was also barred from playing in any 2016 preseason games.[29]
  6. Suspension accompanied by mandatory referral to sensitivity training, as a well as an additional fine (see below) as there is no salary to be forfeited in a playoff game.[38]
  7. As the Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated from the playoffs, Schenn's suspension was instead made to be served in his first three games of the 2016–17 NHL regular season.[39]

Fines[edit]

Players can be fined up to 50% of one day's salary, up to a maximum of $10,000.00 for their first offense, and $15,000.00 for any subsequent offenses. Fines listed in italics indicate that was the maximum allowed fine.

Coaches, non-playing personnel, and teams are not restricted to such maximums.

Fines for players/coaches fined for diving/embellishment are structured uniquely and are only handed out after non-publicized warnings are given to the player/coach for their first offense. For more details on diving/embellishment fines:

Diving/embellishment specifications
Incident Number1 Player Fine2 Coach Fine2
1 Warning (N/A) Warning (N/A)
2 $2,000 N/A
3 $3,000 N/A
4 $4,000 N/A
5 $5,000 $2,000
6 $5,000 $3,000
7 $5,000 $4,000
8+ $5,000 $5,000
  1. For coach incident totals, each citation issued to a player on his club counts toward his total.
  2. All figures are in US dollars.
Date of Incident Offender Team Offense Date of Action Amount1
October 13, 2015 Jordin Tootoo New Jersey Devils Tripping Seth Jones.[46] October 15, 2015 $2,217.74
October 22, 2015 Stephen Gionta New Jersey Devils Spearing Mark Borowiecki.[47] October 23, 2015 $2,284.95
October 25, 2015 Alexander Burmistrov Winnipeg Jets Elbowing Jared Spurgeon.[48] October 26, 2015 $4,166.67
November 3, 2015 Ryan Reaves St. Louis Blues Roughing Anze Kopitar.[49] November 4, 2015 $3,024.19
November 8, 2015 Teemu Pulkkinen Detroit Red Wings Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[50] November 13, 2015 $2,000.00
November 12, 2015 Brad Marchand Boston Bruins Roughing Gabriel Landeskog.[51] November 13, 2015 $5,000.00
December 5, 2015 Brandon Prust Vancouver Canucks Spearing Brad Marchand.[52] December 6, 2015 $5,000.00
December 10, 2015 Zack Smith Ottawa Senators Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[53] December 17, 2015 $2,000.00
December 22, 2015 Jannik Hansen Vancouver Canucks Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[54] January 1, 2016 $2,000.00
December 29, 2015 Nikolaj Ehlers Winnipeg Jets Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[55] January 7, 2016 $2,000.00
December 30, 2015 Bobby Farnham New Jersey Devils Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[55] January 7, 2016 $2,000.00
January 4, 2016 Jordin Tootoo New Jersey Devils Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[56] January 14, 2016 $2,000.00
January 12, 2016 Tyler Myers Winnipeg Jets Cross-checking Tommy Wingels.[57] January 13, 2016 $5,000.00
January 26, 2016 Alexander Burmistrov Winnipeg Jets Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[58] February 4, 2016 $2,000.00
February 9, 2016 Nazem Kadri Toronto Maple Leafs Inappropriate gesture towards Mark Giordano.[59] February 11, 2016 $5,000.00
March 6, 2016 Tuomo Ruutu New Jersey Devils Slew-footing Matt Cullen.[60] March 9, 2016 $5,000.00
March 12, 2016 Martin Hanzal Arizona Coyotes Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[61] April 1, 2016 $2,000.00
March 12, 2016 Nazem Kadri Toronto Maple Leafs Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[62] April 1, 2016 $2,000.00
March 12, 2016 Nail Yakupov Edmonton Oilers Diving/Embellishment (second citation).[63] April 1, 2016 $2,000.00
March 21, 2016 Nazem Kadri Toronto Maple Leafs Diving/Embellishment (third citation).[62] April 1, 2016 $3,000.00
March 24, 2016 Josh Manson Anaheim Ducks Inappropriate gesture towards Nazem Kadri.[64] March 25, 2016 $2,486.56
March 30, 2016 Jason Chimera Washington Capitals Butt-ending Shayne Gostisbehere.[65] March 31, 2016 $5,000.00
April 19, 2016 Andrew Shaw Chicago Blackhawks Inappropriate gesture towards an official.[38]2 April 20, 2016 $5,000.00
April 28, 2016 Tom Wilson Washington Capitals Kneeing Conor Sheary.[66] April 29, 2016 $2,403.67
June 23, 2016 Team Vancouver Canucks Inappropriate public comments (tampering) by speaking generally to the Club's potential interest in players under contract to other NHL Clubs, following Jim Benning's comments on P.K. Subban and Steven Stamkos.[67][68] June 28, 2016 $50,000.00
Player totals: $124,583.78
  1. All figures are in US dollars.
  2. Fine accompanied by mandatory referral to sensitivity training, as a well as an additional suspension (see above) as there is no salary to be forfeited in a playoff game.[38]

Further reading[edit]

  • "NHL Department of Player Safety Education Videos". NHL. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  • Glasner, Daniel (March 24, 2014). "Goal: Transparent NHL player discipline. Assist: labour law". Canadian Lawyer. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sharks' Torres suspended 41 games for preseason hit, nhl.com, October 5, 2015
  2. ^ a b Canadiens' Kassian placed in Stage Two of NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, nhl.com, October 5, 2015
  3. ^ Lightning's Nesterov banned two games for boarding, nhl.com, October 16, 2015
  4. ^ Avalanche's Barrie suspended three games for charging, interference, nhl.com, October 17, 2015
  5. ^ Stars' Demers suspended two games for elbowing, nhl.com, October 23, 2015
  6. ^ Senators forward Stone suspended two games, nhl.com, November 2, 2015
  7. ^ Avalanche forward Landeskog suspended two games, nhl.com, November 13, 2015
  8. ^ Dubinsky suspended one game for cross-checking, nhl.com, November 28, 2015
  9. ^ Gudas suspended three games for illegal check, nhl.com, December 2, 2015
  10. ^ Ducks forward Thompson suspended three games, nhl.com, December 14, 2015
  11. ^ Bruins' Talbot suspended two games for interference, nhl.com, December 21, 2015
  12. ^ Bruins' Marchand suspended three games for clipping, nhl.com, December 30, 2015
  13. ^ Capitals' Sill suspended two games for boarding, nhl.com, January 6, 2016
  14. ^ "Ducks F Nate Thompson suspended 3 games for illegal check on Carolina D Justin Faulk". NHL.com. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Oilers' Hendricks suspended three games for boarding, nhl.com, January 11, 2016
  16. ^ Devils' Farnham suspended four games for interference, nhl.com, January 13, 2016
  17. ^ Kings' Lucic suspended one game for roughing, nhl.com, January 24, 2016
  18. ^ a b Ducks forward Horcoff suspended for 20 games, nhl.com, January 26, 2016
  19. ^ Flames' Wideman suspended indefinitely for hitting linesman, nhl.com, January 28, 2016
  20. ^ Flames' Wideman suspended 20 games, nhl.com, February 3, 2016
  21. ^ a b Flames' Wideman suspension reduced on appeal, nhl.com, March 11, 2016
  22. ^ a b Kuznetsov, Neal added to All-Star Game rosters, nhl.com, January 28, 2016
  23. ^ Jets' Stafford suspended one game, nhl.com, February 8, 2016
  24. ^ Maple Leafs' Komarov suspended three games for elbowing, nhl.com, February 19, 2016
  25. ^ Blues' Reaves suspended three games, nhl.com, February 24, 2016
  26. ^ Bruins' Rinaldo suspended for illegal check to the head, nhl.com, March 1, 2016
  27. ^ Coyotes' Domi suspended one game, nhl.com, March 4, 2016
  28. ^ Oilers' Nurse suspended three games, nhl.com, March 10, 2016
  29. ^ a b Coyotes' Tinordi suspended 20 games, nhl.com, March 9, 2016
  30. ^ Avalanche's Landeskog suspended three games, nhl.com, March 10, 2016
  31. ^ Blue Jackets' Dalton Prout suspended one game, nhl.com, March 15, 2016
  32. ^ Flyers' VandeVelde suspended two games for elbowing, nhl.com, March 18, 2016
  33. ^ Boll suspended four games, nhl.com, March 24, 2016
  34. ^ Canucks' Jake Virtanen suspended two games, nhl.com, March 30, 2016
  35. ^ Blackhawks' Keith suspended 6 games for high-sticking, nhl.com, April 1, 2016
  36. ^ Maple Leafs' Kadri suspended four games, nhl.com, April 4, 2016
  37. ^ Flyers' Bellemare suspended one game, nhl.com, April 19, 2016
  38. ^ a b c d Blackhawks' Shaw suspended one game, fined $5000, nhl.com, April 20, 2016
  39. ^ a b Flyers' Schenn suspended three games, nhl.com, April 26, 2016
  40. ^ Capitals' Orpik suspended three games, nhl.com, May 1, 2016
  41. ^ Penguins' Letang suspended one game, nhl.com, May 3, 2016
  42. ^ Canadiens' Kassian reinstated by NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, nhl.com, December 15, 2015
  43. ^ Commissioner Bettman upholds 20-game suspension for Flames' Wideman, nhl.com, February 17, 2016
  44. ^ Simmons, Jeff (February 23, 2016), NHLPA to appeal Wideman suspension to neutral arbitrator Thursday, sportsnet.ca
  45. ^ Haynes, Darren (March 11, 2016), Wideman set to get $280K back after arbitrator cuts suspension in half, cbc.ca
  46. ^ Devils forward Tootoo fined for dangerous trip, nhl.com, October 15, 2015
  47. ^ Devils forward Stephen Gionta fined for spearing, nhl.com, October 23, 2015
  48. ^ Jets' Burmistrov fined for elbowing Wild's Spurgeon, nhl.com, October 26, 2015
  49. ^ Blues' forward Ryan Reaves fined for roughing, nhl.com, November 4, 2015
  50. ^ Red Wings' Pulkkinen fined for diving/embellishment, nhl.com, November 13, 2015
  51. ^ Bruins forward Marchand fined for roughing, nhl.com, November 13, 2015
  52. ^ Canucks' Prust fined $5,000 for spearing, nhl.com, December 6, 2015
  53. ^ Senators' Smith fined for diving/embellishment, nhl.com, December 17, 2015
  54. ^ Canucks' Hansen fined for diving/embellishment, nhl.com, January 1, 2016
  55. ^ a b The NHL fine Devils' Bobby Farnham and Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers $2,000 each for diving, nhl.com, January 7, 2016
  56. ^ Devils' Tootoo fined for diving/embellishment, nhl.com, January 14, 2016
  57. ^ Jets' Myers fined for cross-checking, nhl.com, January 13, 2016
  58. ^ Jets' Burmistrov fined $2,000 for diving, nhl.com, February 4, 2016
  59. ^ Maple Leafs' Kadri fined $5,000, nhl.com, February 11, 2016
  60. ^ Devils' Ruutu fined $5,000 for slew-footing, nhl.com, March 9, 2016
  61. ^ Coyotes' Hanzal fined for diving/embellishment, nhl.com, April 1, 2016
  62. ^ a b Maple Leafs' Kadri fined for diving/embellishment, nhl.com, April 1, 2016
  63. ^ Oilers' Yakupov fined for diving/embellishment, nhl.com, April 1, 2016
  64. ^ Ducks' Manson fined for inappropriate gesture, nhl.com, March 25, 2016
  65. ^ Capitals' Chimera fined $5,000 for butt-ending, nhl.com, March 31, 2016
  66. ^ Capitals' Wilson fined for kneeing, nhl.com, April 29, 2016
  67. ^ Botchford, Jason (June 24, 2016), Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning reportedly facing tampering complaint for comments on P.K. Subban, Steven Stamkos, nationalpost.com
  68. ^ NHL fines Vancouver Canucks for By-Law 15 violation, nhl.com, June 28, 2016