Nazem Kadri will not be suspended for the throat-slash gesture he directed at Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano, but the unseemly move will cost him.
The Toronto Maple Leafs centre has been fined $5,000 for his inappropriate action during Tuesday night’s loss.
After Giordano rocked Kadri with an open-ice hit, Kadri mimed a throat slash and threatened to kill the defenceman from the bench. He later tried to exact revenge with a big hit of own, but Giordano got the better of that collision as well.
“I wasn’t intimidated. I just think it’s pretty stupid on his part to make that gesture, but well see what the league does of it,” Giordano told reporters post-game.
Kadri apologized Wednesday for what he called “an emotional reaction” to what he suspected was a dirty hit.
Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello told Prime Time Sports he had been in touch with the league and the player about the incident.
“It’s not something that should transpire,” Lamoriello said. “Naz has been spoken to.”
The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Kadri (lower-body injury, says coach Mike Babcock) will not be in the lineup when the Maple Leafs take on the Oilers in Edmonton Thursday night.
