The NHL’s Department of Player Safety fined Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov $5,000 for roughing Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic on Sunday, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. The department announced no suspension and the fine was the only discipline that came out of the play.
The ruling drew immediate criticism from fans who argued that a punch thrown at a defenseless player on the ice deserved more than the ceiling the CBA permits by fine alone. Under the agreement, $5,000 is the most Player Safety can impose that way; keeping a player out of games would have required a suspension.
NHL News shared word of the fine on X along with a clip of the sequence and the replies zeroed in on what the league did not do. One user asked:
“How no suspension???”
Another reply aimed at the department itself.
“Player safety has kept 0 players safe”
Another fan summed up the money in two words.
“Worth it”
Fans defending Nikita Zadorov pointed to the sport’s unwritten code and to Vlasic’s role in the confrontation.
“Whether you softies like it or not, there’s a code in this sport. When you jump a guy for no reason, and start laying ground and pound, that is 100% an unwritten license for the other team to take a liberty on YOU. All this did was even the score. Go watch soccer I guess”
Another post argued that Vlasic started the sequence by going after a player who had no intention of fighting.
“Everyone’s whining about this but not talking about how Vlasic tried fighting someone who has no intentions in dropping gloves”
Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov fined $5,000 for roughing Blackhawks’ Alex Vlasic
The incident occurred at 18:34 of the second period of Saturday’s game. A scrum broke out near center ice and while Vlasic was defenseless, Nikita Zadorov swung at him before Ryan Donato brought him down and officials separated the players. Zadorov was assessed two minor penalties for roughing, a four-minute double minor, plus a 10-minute misconduct.
Boston won the game 5-4 in overtime. Zadorov leads the NHL with 47 penalty minutes in 14 games this season and has four assists. He also led the league in penalty minutes in each of the previous two seasons.
The fine money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. Player Safety has announced no further discipline from the sequence which leaves Nikita Zadorov facing no suspension and available to Boston.
Edited by Sonali Verma
