The NHL has come down on Brandon Prust for his antics in the late stages of Vancouver’s 4-0 loss to Boston on Saturday, fining him $5,000 for spearing B’s forward Brad Marchand.
The incident occurred with just under two minutes remaining, and earned Prust a 10-minute misconduct. While some were suggesting a suspension could be coming Prust’s way, sources of CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty suggested otherwise:
Marchand stayed down on the ice in clear pain for long seconds after the play, but made it onto the ice for one more shift after the spearing incident, which he described to reporters as Prust getting him “in the fun spot.”
While no final decision had been made by the NHL Player Safety Department on Saturday night, a source indicated to CSNNE.com that a fine was the most likely outcome for the Canucks’ energy forward.
It’s also worth noting there’s precedent for players getting fined for spearing, rather than suspended. Then-Boston forward Milan Lucic was fined for doing the same to Detroit’s Danny DeKeyser in the ’14 playoffs, as was then-Dallas forward Ryan Garbutt (who was fired for spearing Corey Perry in the same postseason).
Finally, it has to be said this isn’t Prust’s first run-in with the Department of Player Safety. In May of ’14, he was suspended two games for a “late, violent hit” on Rangers center Derek Stepan. Prust was also fined $5,000 by the NHL last year for remarks made about referee Brad Watson.