Montreal Canadiens: Should Max Domi be suspended for the punch?

The Montreal Canadiens chose not to make Domi available for the media after the game ended, which they ended up losing 5-2. Florida’s players, on the other hand, shared their thoughts on it all. Here’s what goaltender Roberto Luongo had to say about it:

"It was a little bit of a gutless play. You don’t do those types of things. I’m sure the league will look at it and we definitely won’t forget about it. You respect your opponents and if your opponent doesn’t want to engage in a fight there’s no reason to drop your glove and punch him square in the face for no reason."

Now we go to the debate: should Domi be suspended for this?

Well, let’s break down all the elements. Many are deeming Ekblad the “unsuspecting opponent” in this ordeal. Even though Domi gave him a couple of jabs before the final blow, there was never any true intent for him to fight. In fact, what makes it look bad were the moments where Ekblad attempted to skate away while Domi continued to hold on to his sweater.

Sportsnet’s Mike Johnston included some lines from the NHL rulebook covering the matter of match penalties, and more specifically, match penalties in a fight:

"Rule 21: A match penalty involves the suspension of a player for the balance of the game and the offender shall be ordered to the dressing room immediately. A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner. Rule 46.15: A match penalty shall be assessed to a player who punches an unsuspecting opponent and causes an injury."

Two more things play a role here. One, Ekblad’s concussion history, there’s a lot. He has a total of three since debuting in the NHL including a run in with whiplash during the World Cup of Hockey playing for the high-flying Team North America. Thankfully, nothing came out of this, but the rule of thumb when it comes to suspensions is to punish the action, not the aftermath.