“We just have to control ourselves a bit more. We have to be a little more disciplined,” said Adam Foote, head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, following the team’s 3-1 loss to the Oilers at Rogers Place last Saturday. But his words on discipline were hardly reflected by the team on the ice. At 8:25 of the third period, the Canucks’ defenseman Tyler Myers slashed Edmonton captain Connor McDavid. While no penalty was called during the game, the NHL finally seems to have caught up with Myers.

In the third period of the October 11 game, McDavid was skating toward the net without the puck. Myers, without much provocation from the hosts’ leader, could be seen catching McDavid with the stick in his groin area. The hit didn’t get assessed a penalty, but Myers did get called for delaying the game later. However, it looks like the NHL has now come to mete out its own judgment on the matter, but the fans aren’t very happy about the severity.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety revealed today the music the Canucks’ blueliner will have to face for his hit on McDavid. In a post on X from October 12, the punishment was laid out. “Vancouver’s Tyler Myers has been fined $2,500 for slashing Edmonton’s Connor McDavid,” reads the caption of the social media post. It is the maximum allowable amount under the CBA for the infraction.

Maybe Myers’ frustration stemmed from how his winning the puck from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the second didn’t amount to anything. The Canucks’ breakout was halted when Filip Chytil’s misplaced pass was intercepted by Andrew Mangiapane, who went on to give the Oilers the lead in his 500th NHL game. However, while Myers’ slash on McDavid, for many, felt like nothing they’ve seen inside a hockey rink before.

The Canucks’ d-man’s below-the-belt hit wasn’t your typical slash, which is generally explained as a downward strike with the stick. Instead, Tyler was clearly seen moving the stick upward to catch Connor McDavid between his legs. Probably it was something even the refs weren’t prepared to make the right call for. However, the hit wasn’t enough to stop the Oilers from bagging their first victory of the 2025-26 season.

And yet, while the fans were also ready to give Myers a pass for the infraction, they seemed to get way more agitated after the NHL’s verdict on the matter was made public. After all, McDavid has only recently extended his contract with the Oilers (two-year, $25 million) and sentiments around the squad captain are understandably flying high.

Fans call for justice for Connor McDavid

There is no shortage of instances of players getting suspended by the NHL for putting their hands on their opponents.  Many fans believed Myers’ punishment didn’t do justice to the nature of the hit on McDavid. “Should’ve been a suspension but we’ll take it,” sounded the frustrated comment of one fan. The same sentiment was reflected by another fan, who commented, “Should have been a match penalty…Do better.”

Last season, the postseason series between the Dallas Stars and the Oilers was marked by rampant bouts on the ice. Darnell Nurse’s slash on Roope Hintz got off with a two-minute minor. Pete DeBoer, the Dallas head coach, was livid. So much so that he even told reporters that he didn’t believe the case would be the same if Connor McDavid were on the receiving end of the stick. But with Myers getting off so easily, the fans aren’t sitting right. “Crazy part is he didn’t even get a penalty,” one fan was left baffled.

“If the refs can’t do there jobs let the players police themselves and refs should be fined as well for there missed calls.” another fan tried to draw attention to the root cause. While sometimes refs do try to guard the players from facing severe punishments, it is understandable that some fans feel like better supervision on the ice could help to avoid confusion later on. “That’s ridiculous,” one fan fumed.

What about you? How do you feel about the NHL’s verdict? Tell us in a comment!