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Hotstove: Was Lucic's Fine Enough?

April 19, 2014, 4:30 PM ET [52 Comments]
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Welcome to the Hotstove! As always, I am your host, Travis Yost.

Though the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs are off to a riveting start, I don't think anyone around the league had much of an appetite for Milan Lucic's groin spear on Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser during game one of the Red Wings/Bruins series.

The raw video below:



Though many have pointed out that this isn't exactly Lucic's first offense with this sort of stuff, the player individually did try and defend his actions, calling it "heat of the moment" (h/t Rob Longley):







I think, reasonably speaking, there are three sides to sort of look at this incident in light of the NHL's decision to only fine the player $5,000.00 for his actions.

The first is that the NHL erred in their supplemental discipline, and should've thrown the book harder at a player who (a) has admitted to a prior history of this sort of stuff; (b) clearly attempted to injure the other player; and especially (c) did so away from the run of play.

The second is sort of a pseudo-defense of Lucic; one that doesn't really condone the action, but notes that the line of supplementary discipline for non-injurious cheap shots that don't involve the head tend to only pick up fines as opposed to suspensions. It's not an argument in support of the player as much as it is an argument in support of the league's decision to hand out their version of supplemental discipline as they have in previous instances in the Department of Player Safety era.

There's a third view, I think, to all of this -- a combination of the two above. It's one that argues that the league made the right call under their current guidelines for dealing with these sort of cheap shots, but also notes that such instances need to be revisited by a disciplinary committee in the off-season to ensure that (a) players and organizations are fully aware of what these sort of cheap shots can bring in terms of supplemental discipline; and (b) generally, such would include suspensions -- not just fines under the current CBA.

But, as for the larger question here: Do you think the $5,000.00 fine for Milan Lucic was enough of a punishment? Do you think Lucic should be given the benefit of the doubt and wrist-slapped, or do you think the league should've come down harder for this sort of play?

Vote/comment.

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