Jets’ Burmistrov fined the maximum for elbowing Wild’s Spurgeon

Though Dustin Byfuglien’s vicious boarding hit on Jason Pominville was more widely shared and discussed following Sunday night’s fast paced and physical game between the Winnipeg Jets and the MInnesota Wild, it was another iffy sequence that earned the ire of the NHL Department of Player Safety.

In the second period of Sunday night’s game Jets forwards Alexander Burmistrov stuck out an elbow on Minnesota Wild defender Jared Spurgeon, who was coming to check Burmistrov along the wall. Burmistrov was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for elbowing on the play, and now he’s been fined $4,166.67 as supplementary discipline as well. That’s the maximum amount allowable under the NHL/NHLPA collective bargaining agreement.

Here’s the play in question:

(Courtesy: TSN)

It’s a bad hit, and though Burmistrov is legally permitted to initiate contact and reverse hit on this sequence, he has to keep his elbow tucked in.

One is left to wonder whether or not Burmistrov is now on the Department of Player Safety’s radar for his habit of throwing bows. He probably should be, frankly, after this play and the elbow he threw at Boston Bruins star Patrice Bergeron in the season opener:

A game like Sunday’s – where the Jets came out winners, but left the Wild left with a of complaints about borderline hits – has kind of become typical for this team. It’s a physical bunch, and they play on the edge. The Jets are only one year removed from being the league’s most penalized and undisciplined team, and while they’ve been modestly better in this area in the early going, they’re still in the top-10 among NHL teams in terms of putting themselves in shorthanded situations so far. Play like this are part of the reason why.