Columbus Blue Jackets David Savard Fined for Slash in Panthers Game
By John Luke
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard was fined for what the league determined was an overly aggressive slash.
I am one of those fans that is always on the side of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Questionable hit made? It was probably unavoidable. Was the other team offsides? You bet they were. Last night that was not the case.
Sunday night with 3:58 left in the game against the Florida Panthers I saw something that made me sad to be a Savard fan. Savard reached out and slashed the hands of Panther, Vincent Trocheck. A play that could take out an exceptionally skilled player for months with a broken hand.
I have watched the play a couple of times and I can’t really see anything that Trocheck is trying to do other than jam the net on a loose puck. Savard reached out and slashed him across the hands like he was swinging a paddle. It makes me sad to see our team play like that. We should be better.
David Savard has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for this slash on Vincent Trocheck on Sunday night: https://t.co/A7InnUeNGN
— Cats On The Prowl (@Cats0ntheprowl) January 8, 2018
The slash went unnoticed by the officials but it didn’t go unnoticed by the NHL. The NHL announced a 5k penalty today but decided not to suspend David Savard for any games. I say he is lucky and should take note that type of play is not ok.
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I did say at the beginning that I am always on the side of the Columbus Blue Jackets so I would be remiss to say that the Florida Panthers didn’t have their own dirty plays during the game. They just didn’t get a fine for it.
Early in the game James Reimer, the Panthers goalie, decided he wasn’t happy with Tyler Motte crashing the net. He used the blocker and could be seen bashing Motte in the head repeatedly as he was on the ice. This kind of play has no room in the NHL and I find it ridiculous that there was no review of this play if they took a look at Savard’s play.
Next: CBJ Squeek Out the W Against the Panthers
I will always be on the side of the Jackets but I would prefer that we play like the team I think we can be. We can mess you up fair and square. We don’t need sucker punches or playing any way that could really hurt a player. I hope to not see this in the future and I hope that in the future that Toronto keeps an eye on the goalies.