The NHL fines Arber Xhekaj for his Todd Bertuzzi-esque beatdown of Maple Leafs Cedric Pare

During Saturday night's preseason game vs. the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Cedric Pare went knee on knee with Montreal forward Patrik Laine, leading Laine to leave the game and needing assistance off the ice. It was an unfortunate incident and we are still waiting word on the severity of the injury.

However, it wasn't long before Montreal took exception to the hit as enforcer Arber Xheka channeled his Todd Bertuzzi by sneak attacking by sneak attacking Pare with a sucker punch and laying in shot after shot before officials broke it up. Pare didn't fight back, both because it was a surprise beatdown, but if he retaliated he could also find some punishment. Xhekaj was given a 2, 5, 10 for his actions and he was kicked out of the game. Now, the NHL has handed down it's own form of punishment.

The National Hockey League announced that Arber Xhekaj was fined the maximum amount of $3,385.42 for his unsportsmanlike conduct:

While the sentiment about fining a player is admirable, the miniscule amount given out by the CBA as a fine needs to be adjusted. These types of incidents could lead to serious injury that could be career or life altering and $3.5K is peantus for someone like Arber Xhekaj, who signed a 2-year, $2.6M extension this summer and will merely find this a little blip in his bank account after this. No one is calling for his head, but there needs to be a bit more of a punishment for someone who blatantly attacks a defenseless player, regardless of if it's for a receipt or not.

Pare, who the Maple Leafs signed as a depth piece this summer was never really destined for more than AHL depth and insurance for the Maple Leafs should any injuries really pile up. Drafted in the 6th round by the Boston Bruins in 2017, Pare has yet to really latch onto a club and has spent his career bouncing between the AHL and ECHL, though he had a successful junior career with the Rimouski Oceanic where he scored 54 goals and 83 assists in two seasons with the team.

While the punishment may not fit the crime, it's good to see the NHL isn't overlooking this and Xhekaj gets the rage out of his system. He proved his point and the NHL is proving theirs; and now all eyes will be on the season opener October 9th as both these teams meet to open up the 2024-2025 campaign.