Everyone saw that, right? With 8 seconds remaining on the clock in game four of the Florida Panthers vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs, Max Domi went in for the kill. Domi performed a hit on Florida Captain Aleksander Barkov, resulting in a situation that was so bad that Florida’s Aaron Ekblad and Eetu Luostarinen had to get involved along with the refs to break it up. Though misconducts were given out at the time, the consequences of the incident were not known till now.

It has just been announced, via the NHL Player Safety X handle, that Max Domi will need to pay a $5,000 fine following the incident; this is reportedly the maximum allowable fine under the CBA. However, this seems to also indicate that Domi will still be on the ice for game 5, and with tensions running high like this, there’s no telling what Wednesday may bring!

Aleksander Barkov, on the other hand, seems to be doing “all right” following the injury, as per coach Paul Maurice’s statement; however, he was injured early on in the playoffs in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, so how he may show up in game 5 is also up for speculation. Will Barkov fight back or will his Panthers get Max Domi for him? Tkachuk already seems to be up for the challenge, as per his brief bench exchange with Nylander following the hit.

How was Nicolas Roy fined more than Toronto Maple Leafs’ Max Domi just a few days prior?

Some fans might be wondering how $5,000 is the maximum allowable amount when just a few days ago, Golden Knights’ Nicolas Ray was fined $7,812.50 for cross-checking Trent Frederic of the Edmonton Oilers. The hit happened in overtime and had many fans taken aback; however, the NHL’s quick decision to fine the player meant that there would be no suspensions or further actions underway, and many critics have been questioning this move in terms of player safety. Is a $7,812.50 fine enough to teach a lesson?

Maybe the lesson will be taught slightly better than Domi’s, with a comparably less intense $5000 fine. The wording of that X statement announcing Max Domi’s fine may have been a little confusing. As per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is an agreement between the NHL and the NHL Player’s Association, the maximum fine allowable on Max Domi specifically was $5,000, based on his pay scale. This was obviously altered for Nicolas Ray’s salary, resulting in the $2,812.50 difference. Which brings us back to the question of, is either of these enough?

Paul Maurice seems to be playing the whole thing quite diplomatically; maybe that’s because he knows game 5 is going to pack the heavy punches and there’s no point upsetting the authorities beforehand. While Maurice confirmed that Aleksander Barkov was doing ‘all right,’ he also added, with respect to potential consequences Max Domi would face prior to the fine announcement, “I think the league looks at those things very closely, especially at that point in the game. That is their job.” 

Whether Domi learned his lesson or not will only be evident on Wednesday. But given he’s on a 4-year, $15,000,000 contract with the Leafs, the fine doesn’t seem like that much of a blow.