NHL Department of Player Safety announces surprising decision on Arber Xhekaj
In the aftermath of the melee during the Toronto Maple Leafs preseason win 2-0 over the Montreal Canadiens last night in Montreal Arber Xhekaj has been fined $3,385.42, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for unsportsmanlike conduct on Toronto's Cédric Paré.
The incident in question occurred in retaliation for the hit that Pare made on Canadiens forward Patrik Laine. Laine did not return and was seen with his left knee in a brace and on crutches.
While a fine typically doesn't do anything and a suspension would have been preferred it feels evident and obvious at least at this time that the league wants to do what it can to limit the unnecessary nonsense that occurs, especially in retaliatory moments. It's likely for his efforts that Pare will play with Toronto's American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies while Xhekaj will obviously be patrolling the blue line for the Montreal Canadiens. But if you level consequences against one player involved in a situation it may have made sense for the league to hand Pare at least the same for what he did as well.
While many people believe that Xhekaj should not have even bothered with Pare at the time, he has a responsibility to take care of his teammates. Whether he did so in an appropriate fashion is something that can be debated, however, it happened and it's time to move on. The regular season itself is in less than a couple of weeks and if either team decides to seek out any sort of retribution for the Laine incident or the incident between Pare and Xhekaj, it's bound to be an exciting number of months when these two teams face off against each other this season.
While you can argue that Laine shouldn't have been hit being in a vulnerable position, it was just a matter of being in an unfortunate situation at the wrong time for the Finn. The Pare and Xhekaj skirmish may have proven that the rivalry between Montreal and Toronto may be back, after vanishing for a number of years.
| POLL | ||
Do you agree with the fine given to Arber Xhekaj? | ||
| Yes. It's enough | 142 | 56.1 % |
| No. Should have been suspended | 111 | 43.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
