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

Max Domi had a fiery preseason debut for the Montreal Canadiens after receiving a match penalty for punching Aaron Ekblad in Wednesday’s game.

Max Domi wasn’t the only player on the Montreal Canadiens to standout interestingly in a preseason debut. Remember Andrew Shaw‘s fight against Nathan Walker ahead of the 2016-17 season? Obviously not to the same degree, but it’s something that will stay in the minds of Habs fans for a long time, especially if you were in the crowd.

This Domi incident has triggered debates on social media since it took place. It was the beginning of the third period, and the Habs were still down 2-1 and in need of a strong push to get back in the game. Montreal was on the power play, and a chance in the offensive zone ended up being cleared down the ice.

Most of the Habs players skated back to some degree to reset, except for Domi who was having a conversation with Florida Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad in the corner. There’s intent from the 23-year-old to drop the gloves and throw some hands, but Ekblad wasn’t interested. Domi continued to give the Panthers 2014 first-round pick some jabs with his left and finally dropped his glove punching Ekblad in the nose which sent him to the ice instantly.

Looking at the clip again, what started the incident was a shot in the back and a slash from the big defenceman after Domi attempted to retrieve the puck from the boards.

Both Domi and Ekblad left the game afterwards. The former was given a five-minute major and a match penalty for the punch while the latter had to be taken off after the concussion spotters gave the Panthers bench a call for him to undergo concussion testing.

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.