The NHL has handed down suspensions to Tampa Bay forward Scott Sabourin for four games and defenceman J.J. Moser for two games following incidents in the Lightning’s pre-season finale against the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. The league also imposed a $100,000 fine on the Lightning organization and a $25,000 fine on Lightning head coach Jon Cooper.
In response to these penalties, the Lightning called up six players from their American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., for the game. These players collectively accumulated 77 penalty minutes, with five of them receiving either a match penalty, misconduct, or game misconduct during the match.
As a result of the NHL rulings issued on Monday, Sabourin will forfeit $16,145.84, equivalent to approximately $850 for every second he played in the game. Moser will lose $35,156.26 due to his suspension.
It remains uncertain when Sabourin will serve his suspension as he was sent back to Syracuse by the Lightning on Monday. Notably, Sabourin had only played in one NHL game last season.
Sabourin, who was on the ice for a brief 19 seconds on Saturday, received a match penalty for his actions against Florida defenceman Aaron Ekblad early in the game. This incident set the stage for a contest where a staggering 65 penalties were called, resulting in 13 game misconducts and a total of 312 penalty minutes.
Following the chaotic game, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper expressed his surprise, stating, “That was a first for me… I think we had more coaches than players on the bench at one point.”
Moser’s suspension was a consequence of boarding Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist during the same game, leading to a major penalty and a game misconduct for Moser.
The high volume of penalties during the game led to confusion among officials, as Florida’s Niko Mikkola was mistakenly credited with an assist on a goal by Boqvist that was later disallowed when it was discovered that Mikkola had been ejected from the game earlier in the period.
Florida forward Evan Rodrigues criticized the game’s turn of events, describing it as “silly” and “stupid” by the end, noting that it did not resemble a typical hockey match.
Ekblad, who left the game after the hit by Sabourin, was able to participate in practice on Monday and is expected to be in the lineup when the Lightning kick off their season at home against Chicago on Tuesday.