SAN JOSE — San Jose Sharks coach Bob Boughner and forward Kurtis Gabriel were slapped with fines by the NHL on Tuesday for an altercation that took place prior to the team’s game with the Los Angeles Kings the night before.
The NHL fined Gabriel $3,017.24, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and Boughner $5,000 following an altercation prior to Monday’s game.
In addition, the Sharks were assessed a conditional fine of $25,000, which will be collected — in addition to any subsequent discipline — in the event of similar inappropriate behavior through one year, or until March 22, 2022. The fine money goes to the NHL Foundation.
During pregame warmups Monday, Gabriel skated parallel to the red line at center ice and cross-checked Kings defenseman Kurtis MacDermid, his former teammate in junior hockey, in the back. That level of physical contact between opposing players during pregame warmups is frowned upon by the league.
“He plays on the edge, with a ton of passion,” Boughner said of Gabriel. “But it’s got to be controlled.”
In a statement, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said, “While we want our players to play hard, it has to be done within the context of the game and whistle to whistle. We agree with the League’s assessment that these altercations are not acceptable and we do not condone this type of pre-game interaction. The League has made it clear that these types of actions will not be tolerated and we have addressed it internally.”
Gabriel and MacDermid then fought at the 10:52 mark of the first period and received five-minute majors. Gabriel, 27, and MacDermid, 26, were teammates with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons from 2011 to 2014.
The Sharks and Kings play again Wednesday, but it appears Gabriel will not dress for the game.
“He’s assured us that’s the end of it,” Boughner said of Gabriel. “That’s not the kind of team we want to be. We want to be team-tough, we want to play hard, we want to be hard to play against, but between the whistles and hopefully that adds to our success.”
Before previous Sharks games this month, Gabriel has spoken to the opposing team’s leading tough guy, including Ryan Reaves of the Vegas Golden Knights on March 5 and Kyle Clifford of the St. Louis Blues on March 8, in pregame warmups.
But the conversations, while intense, never reached that level of physicality, although Clifford did shove Gabriel prior to the Sharks’ game with the Blues on March 8. Gabriel later fought both players.
In addition, the Sharks were assessed a conditional fine of $25,000, which will be collected — in addition to any subsequent discipline — in the event of similar inappropriate behavior through one year, or until March 22, 2022. The fine money goes to the NHL Foundation.
