Florida Fans Upset Over Max Domi’s Punishment for Hit on Aleksander Barkov: “No Suspension”

Nine seconds! That’s how little time there was left in the third period when Leafs’ Max Domi landed a thunderous hit on Panthers’ captain Aleksander Barkov. Immediately, all hell broke loose as the multiple Panthers players jumped on Domi. “The boys did a good job jumping in there and sticking up for Barky. I mean, it’s been a physical series, so I expect more of that,” said Panthers forward Sam Bennett after the match. Yet the Florida Panthers weren’t the only ones who saw an issue.

The hit came so late that the final buzzer sounded even before the ref could separate the players. So as Matthew Tkachuk and Matthew Knies mouthed off at one another, the clock ran out even before Domi could serve the major penalty the refs gave him for the hit. That didn’t mean that the NHL star got away scot-free. The Player Safety Department has shown multiple times that it has no patience for major infractions, and this time it was no different.

Since Domi couldn’t serve his 5 minutes on the bench for a game that was already over, Player Safety hit him with a fine. “Toronto’s Max Domi has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for boarding Florida’s Aleksander Barkov,” the official NHL Player Safety handle posted on X. So that satisfied the fans who felt outraged after Domi floored Barkov from behind, right? Well, not quite.

Florida Panthers fans were furious that the 30-year-old got away with just a fine. After all, boarding, depending on how hard the hit was, can cause serious injury to the player taking the hit. What’s more? Aleksander Barkov didn’t even see Max Domi coming. The ice hockey forward made a beeline toward the Florida Panthers captain while he scrambled to hit the puck away from their half. So, as far as the Panthers fans were concerned, Domi got off easy, and that didn’t go down well with them.

Panthers fans were not ready to let Max Domi off the hook

They’ll probably want Domi’s head on a swivel. Shortly after NHL Player Safety posted on social media, fans flooded the comment sections, demanding more. “NO SUSPENSION????? OMG! WHAT???” commented one Panthers’ fan in all-caps. While others seemed less animated, they also shared the same sentiment. “This is sad,” commented another fan. “If this was the Panthers, we would’ve been suspended,” the netizen added.

While the call for a suspension after a fine may sound harsh, it’s not like Panthers fans have no ground to make such a demand. Take star defenseman Aaron Ekblad‘s suspension, for example. Ekblad earned a two-game suspension after a phone hearing for elbowing Tampa Bay Lightning’s Brandon Hagel in round one. Yes, the league didn’t slap Ekblad with a fine like Max Domi.

Then again, the 29-year-old served a longer suspension, and that too shortly after returning from a 20-game suspension. However, one fan made an interesting observation regarding the NHL’s recent suspensions. “Should have been a suspension,” commented the fan. “But it’s become clear you only get suspended if the other player gets injured. No suspensions based on actions, only on the results,” explained the fan.

While an interesting observation, it may not be completely true. Remember, Panthers Niko Mikkola boarding Tampa Bay’s Zemgus Girgensons? Well, Mikkola first hit Girgensons from behind, followed it up with boarding, and a third hit once Girgensons hit the ice. The result? The officials immediately slapped Mikkola with a five-minute penalty and ejected him from the game for misconduct. Later, the Player Safety Department added a $5000 fine, just like in Max Domi’s case.

And the fine was exactly what one fan commented on. “That’s a hefty fine! Hope Barkov’s okay,” the hockey enthusiast commented. The officials also had the same concern when it happened. “That is as reckless and dangerous as you can get from that distance from the boards,” quipped one announcer while reviewing the slo-mo footage. Thankfully, the Barkov was fine this time.

Why say this time, you ask? Well, that’s because this isn’t the first time Barkov took a big hit this playoff season. Max Domi didn’t become the second guy after

Brandon Hagel to land an intentional hit on the Panthers’ captain. Hagel also earned a suspension. However, if you think everyone was on board with only Max Domi getting fined, you’d be wrong.

Many Maple Leafs fans also asked the NHL Player Safety to review Dmitry Kulikov‘s elbow on Mitch Marner. “But Marner could be elbowed to the head with no penalty. Make it make sense, NHL,” asked one fan, calling for action against the Panthers’ defenseman. Leafs coach Craig Berube agreed that the league should’ve taken action against Kulikov like they did in Max Domi’s case.

He even went so far as to say Kulikov’s hit was far worse than Domi’s. “To me, the Kulikov hit was 10 times worse,” Berube said, as per NHL insider Chris Johnston. So what do you believe? Did the Leafs forward deserve a fine and a suspension? Write your views in the comments.