In the Toronto Maple Leafs’ loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, a controversial incident between Oliver Ekman Larsson and Jake Guentzel occurred and had plenty of fans reacting.
With 5:32 played in the third period, Oliver Ekman Larsson and Jake Guentzel battled for a loose puck in the neutral zone.
The Leafs defenseman Ekman Larsson prevented Guentzel from skating around him with a hit, and he was sent to the penalty box for a minor interference call. The collision made nasty contact, but Guentzel appeared to be fine and quickly returned to the game.
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Many disagreed with the penalty call, but after the game, there wasn’t too much talk about the incident. At least until the NHL decided to fine the defenseman $5,000, the maximum allowable under the current CBA.
And fans were not happy about it. Although looking at the replays, there was a pretty obvious interference from Ekman Larsson, many argued that there had been hundreds, if not thousands, of hits in the NHL that had previously gone without supplemental discipline.
The fact that the DoPS decided to act now, against Ekman Larsson, had Toronto fans extremely upset, with some even calling it a conspiracy from George Parros, a former NHLer who currently serves as the head of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
”I don’t believe in 99% of the Leafs conspiracy theories, but the Parros one is real. This is genuinely embarrassing,” wrote JD Bunkis, host of Leafs Talk on Sportsnet, on X.
”Most Leafs conspiracies are not true, but this one is. George Parros punishes Leafs players on a different scale than the rest of the league. And no one does anything about it,” Mike Stephens, co-host of the Puck Social Podcast, wrote.
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Many fans were also quick to post videos of several other incidents that have happened over the last couple of years that have gone without any fines or punishment, which even appeared to be worse than Ekman Larsson’s.
”If the situation was reversed, Gary, Parros, and Daly would have a presser praising the hit and rewarding the Lightning with an extra win,” Sam McKee, co-host of Leaf Talk wrote.
