Panarin fined $5k for throwing glove at Marchand

The NHL is a silly place.

New York Rangers star Artemiy Panarin has been fined $5,000 — the maximum allowable under the CBA — for unsportsmanlike conduct during yesterday’s game against the Boston Bruins. In this case, unsportsmanlike conduct means throwing a glove at Brad Marchand who allegedly crossed a line with his chirping.

According to Arthur Staple of The Athletic, a source claims that Marchand made some “Russian-centric” comments about Panarin, who has been critical of Vladimir Putin. So, it sounds like Marchand crossed a line — at least in Panarin’s view.

Panarin’s response was to fire a hockey glove past A.J. Mleczko to bonk Marchand in the face. Regrettably, he missed his target and the heavily padded projectile hit Marchand in the stomach. For that heinous act, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety has chosen to throw the book at him with a $5,000 fine.

This, of course, is a pretty preposterous reaction to what happened. Was it unsportsmanlike? Sure — we can’t have players playing dodgeball with their equipment. But it was far from dangerous and we have seen a lot of dangerous nonsense unfold on the ice in and outside of Rangers games that have gone unpunished. Honestly, it gets harder and to take the NHL and its disciplinary actions seriously with each passing week.

Will the NHL investigate what Marchand said to provoke such a response from Panarin? I doubt it.

Remember when Henrik Lundqvist was fined $5,000 for spraying Sidney Crosby with a bottle of water? I do.

Have a nice Black Friday. Spend your money wisely.