The NHL fined Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane the maximum amount of $5,000 for slashing Nick Ritchie on Monday night. The punishment was announced by NHL Player Safety on Tuesday.
Kane took exception to a slash from Ritchie as the two skating toward their respective benches in the Blackhawks’ 7-3 victory. The winger responded by taking a hard whack at the back of Ritchie’s legs, which led to a referee immediately stepping in to prevent things from escalating further.
Patrick Kane and Nick Ritchie exchange pleasantries. pic.twitter.com/uG9PUpFZb6
— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) November 28, 2017
Kane and Ritchie each received two-minute slashing penalties for the interaction, but the league only followed up with extra punishment for Kane. Presumably that’s because of the nature of his slash in retaliation to what Ritchie did, although they don’t provide detailed explanations for fines like they do for suspensions.
With a total salary of $13.8 million for the 2017-18 season, Kane shouldn’t have any problem affording the fine, but he’ll want to be careful to avoid repeated offenses that could lead to suspensions. Luckily these moments are few and far between for Kane, who is rarely the aggressor despite having guys go after him constantly.