NHL Department of Player Safety Punishes Leafs' Max Domi
The NHL Department of Player Safety decided to hand down some punishment to Toronto's Max Domi for his elbow on Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway.
During Toronto's 3-2 OT win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, it was a scrappy and testy game between the middling Flyers and a dominant Toronto team coming off a strong start to their 2025.
Both teams weren't afraid to get down and dirty, and while it made for some exciting television, there were some rough spots. Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe was injured after fighting with the Flyers' Garnet Hathaway and suffered a potential concussion.
Hathaway potentially laid in a cheap shot to McCabe at the end which didn't sit well with Max Domi. Later on, the Maple Leafs forward laid in an elbow to Hathaway which led to a penalty and a further look from the league.
Well the NHL has decided that Domi warranted a bit more than a penalty as they fined him the maximum of $5,000 for the incident.
It's a frustrating bit of news for Maple Leafs fans as Hathaway has yet to receive punishment for his actions on McCabe, and it feels like another instance of the NHL trying to keep Toronto down in favor of other teams.
Max Domi's Fine A Sign Of A Bigger Problem With The NHL
It's not the fact that Domi got fined for his actions, as there was a clear elbow to the dome of Hathaway. While he could have fought him instead if he wanted some payback, the decision to go eye for an eye ended up costing Domi.
But it's the fact that the league has been dead silent on if Hathaway has received any punishment for kneeing Jake McCabe after slamming onto him after they had a scrap is a sign of something peculiar.
There has been a lot of talk and speculation that the NHL isn't necessarily the fairest when it comes to their most profitable franchise. Toronto often finds themselves on the short end of the stick when it comes to getting calls, and more often than not are on the wrong side of the referees.
Earlier this season, Las Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud ended up leaving his feet and laying a shoulder/elbow into Matthew Knies' head which led him to miss some time. Not only was Whitecloud not fined, or suspended, or even penalized, or even penalized; Toronto ended up on the penalty kill.
A few days earlier, they suspended Ryan Reaves for a headshot, and the similarities between the two hits leaves one to wonder how they could come to different conclusions with the same type of incident.
The league prides itself on being an impartial and fair league that tries to make the game equal for the biggest and smallest markets. But you can't sacrifice player safety for the sake of equality.
Their job is to ensure player safety and safeguarding against these actions. If they decide the rules apply when they feel like it, do they really care about the players?
