(MTL) Arber Xhekaj has been fined $3,385.42

[voyageur]

I don't think he deliberately kneed him in the head, although I think he did intend to injure him. I wasn't a fan of that hit. Perry kneed Tavares in the head too and nobody tried to injure him.

To my point, in both situations nobody targeted stars outside of the player who laid the hit. Someone got some punches in and things were settled. Xhekaj wailed on Pare. You likely won't see Pare ever play a regular season game in a Leafs jersey. How else does this need to be settled? Xhekaj runs Matthews, Reaves runs Hutson. Pezzetta runs Nylander, Benoit runs Suzuki. This does nothing for anyone and won't happen.

Bad blood usually boils over. As a Jets fan I think a preseason headshot by Luke Kunin of the Wild on Bryan Little spilled over 2 seasons at least. That's how the game works. The Leafs-Habs rivalry was there before the puck dropped, just got a little more intense.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Good stuff, deserved nothing beyond this

This is just the initial punishnent. He likely still has a hearing to déterminé suspension

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

What will Pezzetta do? Check someone from behind and then run to the bench?

Pezzetta baits Reaves into ragdolling him so Xhekaj can run wild

 

[NyQuil]

He hit a player multiple times in the back of the head. Not including the outcome to Steeve Moore, what is the major difference between this and what Todd Bertuzzi did??

Not including three fractured neck vertebrae, facial cuts and a concussion which were career-ending?

Seems like you're not including the most significant part.

 

[miscs75]

Pezzetta baits Reaves into ragdolling him so Xhekaj can run wild

Pezzetta will just try to run someone half his size then act like he’s tough.

 

[MXD]

He deserved some supplemental discipline, that looked bad for the sport. At least he kept his gloves (less risk of injury) on, but still bad.

He already had it with the misconduct at like 16 minutes left in the first period. He was almost certainly getting a game if that happened in the 3rd. That's how it goes, and there's no reason why it should have different here.

 

[habsterr]

Fair penalty for what Xhekaj did in a preseason game to a career Ahler.

 

[LeafsNet]

Habs players were f***ing furious after the game. Pretty sure, they'll put a little stash together to pay this off.
Looking forward to him and Pezzetta drilling all the leafs skilled forwards in a couple of weeks

Keep crying. Montreal ain’t gonna do anything, so stop pretending.

 

[leafsfan5]

Not including three fractured neck vertebrae, facial cuts and a concussion which were career-ending?

Seems like you're not including the most significant part.

We should not judge dirty actions based on their outcomes. This incident could have gone the Steeve Moore pathway, we're lucky it didn't, and there should be a suspension for the actions that created that outcome to be a possibility

If Pare ended up concussed would everyone be calling for a Xhekaj suspension?

 

[MXD]

A fine for a game he wasnt even paid to play in ?

Paid on a weekly ou bi weekly basis. He's paid for this

 

[Golden_Jet]

Paid on a weekly ou bi weekly basis. He's paid for this

No they don’t get paid in pre season, players get per diem in pre season. That’s it.

 

[MXD]

We should not judge dirty actions based on their outcomes. This incident could have gone the Steeve Moore pathway, we're lucky it didn't, and there should be a suspension for the actions that created that outcome to be a possibility

If Pare ended up concussed would everyone be calling for a Xhekaj suspension?

No, because Pare isn't an NHLer. Mind you, this also mattered.

AX probably gets something if it was, I dunno, Matthews.

No they don’t get paid in pre season, players get per diem in pre season. That’s it.

They're paid bi weekly for the whole year, unless they aren't under contract when the season starts.

 

[Golden_Jet]

They're paid bi weekly for the whole year, unless they aren't under contract when the season starts.

They get zero for pre season. Per diem like I said (on the road).

 

[Pia8988]

Punish the result and not the action. Classic NHL. Jump a guy from behind is fair game as long as you don't cripple him.

 

[stanley25]

Although I don't think this deserves a suspension, the league is playing with fire allowing Xhekaj to play on Oct 9th. Expect some fireworks for this season opener.

 

[NyQuil]

We should not judge dirty actions based on their outcomes. This incident could have gone the Steeve Moore pathway, we're lucky it didn't, and there should be a suspension for the actions that created that outcome to be a possibility

If Pare ended up concussed would everyone be calling for a Xhekaj suspension?

The outcome has to factor in.

A slash can result in a rapidly fading sting to the side or a severed finger.

A cross-check happens a multitude of times a game pre and post-whistle around the net but can also lead to a broken face.

Every infraction can have horrendous consequences but usually don't.

And we don't hand out suspensions every time there's a penalizable offence due to the possibility of something worse happening. It would be inconsistent if they did in this case.

 

[LeafsNet]

This is just going to open the door for the Leafs and a guy like Reaves to do his own policing which now likely results in someone intentionally getting injured... Which is also basically what Xhekaj was trying to do in the first place.


Just so dumb. Even just a 1-2 game suspension cleans this up for the most part.

The Leafs won’t bite and the game has changed.

But I can see something similar to 2013 happening again, where Montreal was unhinged and playing at home against Toronto.

Leafs went up 5-0 and then all hell broke loose McClaren and Orr pretty much took out the entire Habs line.

 

[Ezpz]

Needs to work a month this offseason at Costco to recoup that.

 

[The Shrike]

Just have Reaves and Xhekaj get it over with on the first shift on Oct 9th, then get back to playing hockey.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

He hit a player multiple times in the back of the head. Not including the outcome to Steeve Moore, what is the major difference between this and what Todd Bertuzzi did??

The league is setting a horrific precedent, but it's not surprising given the incompetence DoPS has displayed

The Leaf player should have squared up

 

[Legion34]

Habs players were f***ing furious after the game. Pretty sure, they'll put a little stash together to pay this off.
Looking forward to him and Pezzetta drilling all the leafs skilled forwards in a couple of weeks

Pezzetta is the biggest punching bag in the league.

Toronto is much bigger/tougher than before.

Reeves plays and they don’t do anything.

 

[LeafsNet]

Just have Reaves and Xhekaj get it over with on the first shift on Oct 9th, then get back to playing hockey.

That’s the problem though, he won’t fight Reeves. He’ll just drag him into the net like last time.

 

[MoreMogilny]

Punish the action, not the outcome.

He should have been suspended for a regular season game at least. You can’t allow players to openly throw punches at the back of other guys heads.

Like I said, Pare deserved to face the music for what he did. But not by getting hit in the back of the head, and the NHL should have taken a firm stance against that

 

[Three On Zero]

Expected a 1 game suspension, but a fine is more than adequate.

 

[Mr Positive]

I don't get it. The league sets a precedent that players do not take justice in their own hands and then let this go.

Why? Because what happened to Laine was horrific? Because Laine is a big name? I'm not against that philosophy entirely as I do want the league to support stars more, but the league should know that now jumping players is now encouraged. Maybe they should be clear about when it's okay to jump someone with intent to injure and when it isn't