Tanev looking at possible suspension for hit on Pastrnak last night?

What’s a fair penalty here?

In case you missed it last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs earned themselves a tidy 4-0 victory over the rival Boston Bruins thanks to some strong physical play and some solid goaltending. In other words, the exact opposite of what we’ve come to expect from the Leafs in recent years.

Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was stellar between the pipes and the Leafs’ forward and D corps made things tough on the Bruins. There were plenty of hits laid, with the Leafs controlling the physical play for most of the evening.

However, one hit in the 1st period drew the attention of NHL Player Safety and now fans are wondering if a suspension could be coming for Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev?

Tanev absolutely drilled Bruins forward David Pastrnak from behind into the sideboards after Pastrnak made a quick move to gain positioning.

Here’s the hit in question:

Now there’s chatter online, and not all just from Bruins fans, that Tanev could be suspended for this hit on Pastrnak. It’s worth noting that Pastrnak was not injured on this play.

It’s clearly not a great hit, but I think that Pastrnak bears just as much responsibility in that as Tanev does. I can’t see NHL Player Safety handing out a suspension, or a fine really even, to Tanev for this hit… but NHL Player Safety isn’t the easiest group to predict though. Would I be surprised if Tanev receives supplemental disclipline? Yes. Will I be shocked? Not al all.

The fact is that NHL Player Safety has been wildly inconsistent with their rulings for years now, so you have to expect the unexpected.

First off, shout out to the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs for distracting me from the US election this evening.

Second off, Bruins vs Leafs rarely disappoints.

This evening, we’ve got yet another feisty match between the two rivals and tempers really flared late in the 1st period when Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev absolutely ran over Bruins star forward David Pastrnak. Tanev drills Pastrnak hard into the boards, causing Bruins captain Brad Marchand to deliver an airborne headlock to Tanev. That’s when all Hell breaks loose at Scotiabank Arena.

Check it out:

Old time hockey!

Read below for our earlier Bruins report, published by Hockey Feed staff writer Chris Gosselin earlier today.

It has been an unexpected bad start to the 2024-25 season for the Boston Bruins that even saw star forward David Pastrnak getting benched by head coach Jim Montgomery earlier this week.

The Bruins added two-time Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson to their roster on Monday, hoping to get a boost up front. However, the signing only confirmed one study that has been put out there by a business advocacy group, the Mass Opportunity Alliance. According to the New York Post, the group claims that the Bruins “are losing out on top talent who prefer to play in states with lower taxes so they walk away with more in income.”

The study took four of the last five Stanley Cup winners and seven of the last 10 to make it to the final round, pointing out that they all hailed from no state income tax. They are talking about teams like the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning ans Vegas Golden Knights.

The NY Post goes a bit further and wonders if that could be a major issue in the near future when it comes to re-signing captain Brad Marchand. Marchand is playing out the final year of an eight-year deal worth a very team friendly $6.125 million per year, and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in July. Recent rumours claim that he was offered a three-year deal, which Marchand denied, while other chatter says that both camps cannot agree on term. The Bruins are just coming out of a contract stalemate with goalie Jeremy Swayman and maybe in the end, it’s all about money and that state tax.

“Brad Marchand, the Bruins’ veteran forward, earned $5 million before taxes in the 2023-24 season. But after being levied a state income tax in Massachusetts, his take-home pay was just $2.934 million.

“Had Marchand played for a team in either Nevada, Washington State, Florida or Texas, he would have walked home with $3.3 million, or around $400,000 more, according to MOA.”

The article also points to Pastrnak, who made a financial sacrifice to stay in Boston.

“Pastrnak earned an annual salary of $13 million last season. If he were a member of the Dallas Stars, the Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning, his net income would be $7.97 million.”

This is a lot of maths and pennies to deal with it, but the study comes out at a time when the Bruins are struggling to rack up points. They currently sit fourth in the Atlantic division with a 6-6-1 record and 13 points on the season.