Though only a preseason matchup, tempers flared between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens. So much that the NHL’s Department of Player Safety stepped in with fines for two teammates of Brady Tkachuk for their actions against Patrik Laine’s Habs.
The Senators took a rough beating against Laine and the Canadiens at Videotron Centre in Quebec City. As the score got out of hand with a 5-0 win for the Habs, the Tkachuk-less Sens retaliated. However, they went too far, and the NHL is now assessing harsh fines for two players in Ottawa.
“Ottawa’s Hayden Hodgson has been fined $2,018.23, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for boarding Montreal’s Alex Newhook,” @NHLPlayerSafety announced through X, formerly Twitter. “Ottawa’s Nick Cousins has been fined $2,148.44, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for slashing Montreal’s Ivan Demidov.”
Repeat offenders
For Laine and the Habs, the shenanigans in display by Cousins and Hodgson weren’t too surprising. After all, the Senators duo has accustomed fans in the NHL to some rowdy behavior. Perhaps, there’s some bad-blood between Montreal and Cousins, as the organization traded him in February 2020, shortly after he had signed with the Habs in July 2019.
Either way, his slash on Canadiens’ Calder Trophy favorite Ivan Demidov boiled the blood of everybody in the City of Saints. On that note, head coach Martin St. Louis dropped a bold statement condemning the incident.
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“There’s no need for that,” St. Louis stated after the game, via TSN. “It’s an exhibition game, both teams are trying to get ready for a long season. I don’t think there’s any need for that in the game.”
Watch out
Cousins’ reputation in the NHL is often under the scope. The Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers in 2024 has had his fair share of controversial plays throughout his 11-year career.
The slash on Demidov will surely be remembered when the Habs and Sens meet again for the preseason finale on October 4. If Cousins is in the lineup, he’ll almost certainly be shadowed around the ice by Laine’s Canadiens.
