Arber Xhekaj punished by the NHL after defending Patrik Laine in last night's fight
Photo credit: Sportsnet
The Montreal Canadiens lost one of their top stars on Saturday night, and now, Arber Xhekaj has been punished for his role in retaliating.
After two straight days of star level players in the NHL getting injured in pre-season, it happened again on Saturday, as Patrik Laine was taken out by a knee-on-knee collision during the Canadiens clash with the Toronto Maple Leafs. While intent can't be proven on the part of forward Cedric Pare, even if it wasn't intended, the play was reckless at best, and it was yet another example of why the pre-season doesn't need to be so long.
The collision was incredibly unnecessary, and after being helped off the ice, there are fears that Laine could miss a significant portion of the regular season for Pare's actions, and given his status as a career AHLer, it makes the situation that much worse. Unsurprisingly, it was Arber Xhekaj to respond to the situation, taking down Pare and battering him in the middle of the ice, with many people expecting a suspension to be the result of the fight.
On Sunday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety officially announced their punishment for Xhekaj, and it was a fine, the maximum allowable under the NHL's current CBA.
This always had to be the result given the way Xhekaj went after Pare for his disgusting actions, but given how he stood up for his teammates, it's safe to say that everyone in the Canadiens organization will be happy with the way that the young defenseman handled business and stood up for his team.
