It was an expensive day for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. It was announced that the NHL had fined the Toronto Maple Leafs $100,000 for traveling to St. Louis on Dec. 26, hence violating the collective bargaining agreement.
The Maple Leafs flew out to St. Louis on Dec. 26, the last day of the holiday break. That violated article 16.5(b) of the CBA between the NHL and NHL Players Association since there’s not supposed to be any team activities on those rest days.
The Leafs replied to the league as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman stated that “The team argued that, because STL is a 90-minute/two-hour flight, it would be better to go at night and get in then (as players are accustomed to) , rather than go at 5 am. I’ve asked a couple of sources if players agreed, and preliminary replies are yes…”
It remains that the CBA is clear on the holiday break and the explanation is not valid from Toronto.
Meanwhile, the NHL also announced that head coach Sheldon Keefe was fined $25,000 for “demeaning conduct directed at the officials” during Tuesday’s game.
“Watching Zach Aston-Reese getting sewn up on the table after the game is a little hard to take. But we’re happy with the two points,Keefe said after the game, he who was also seen yelling at the refs from the bench after Jordan Kyrou’s third-period goal tied the game 4-4 and again just before overtime.
Many fans cannot agree with the NHL’s fines, especially seeing that referee Wes McCauley missed several calls on the Maple Leafs, including a blatant high stick that infuriated Keefe.
This is a lot out of the Maple Leafs’ pockets. Fortunately, they played the Blues at the Enterprise Center Tuesday night, winning the game 5-4 in overtime on a winner from William Nylander.
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