Utah Hockey Club rookie Maveric Lamoureux found himself embroiled in an altercation with the St. Louis Blues’ Pierre-Oliver Joseph. While the fight itself is noteworthy, the circumstances surrounding the brouhaha make the entire incident highly controversial.
The events unfolded early in the second period of the Hockey Club’s Thursday night showdown with the Blues.
A relatively innocuous play led to Maveric Lamoureux colliding with Alexey Toropchenko, resulting in a knee-on-knee hit. The play on the ice prompted Joseph to retaliate immediately, engaging Lamoureux. Both combatants took part in a spirited tilt, setting off plenty of fireworks.
Check out the action here:
Maveric Lamoureux and Pierre-Olivier Joseph drop their gloves. 👀 pic.twitter.com/SupTRlCmH2
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 8, 2024
On the bright side, Toropchenko appeared to be fine, albeit shaken up, after the play. He stayed in the game, seeing over 14 minutes of ice time.
However, Lamoureux got a major penalty for fighting and a game misconduct for the hit on Toropchenko. When looking at the replay, it’s hard to argue that Lamoureux deserved to get tossed for it. At the same time, a case could be made, justifying Lamoureux’s ejection.
It’s worth pointing out that officials on the ice tend to take such situations very seriously. Earlier this season, a similar hit involving Montreal Canadiens star Patrik Laine led to Laine being sidelined for at least two months.
Thus, the NHL heavily penalizes these types of hits in order to discourage players from engaging in hits that could significantly injure players.
Maveric Lamoureux laid a hard, but legal hit
KSL’s Cole Bagley Tweeted his defense for Maveric Lamoureux. In particular, Bagley argued that Lamoureux was only playing the puck. In particular, Bagley pointed out that Lamoureux is a big player. As such, Lamoureux didn’t intentionally mean to collide with Toropchenko the way he did. It was merely a consequence of the high speed at which the game is played.
Lamoureux is ejected after the hit he delivered that led to the fight...I'd say that's questionable. He's a big body with a wide stance and was trying to play the puck.
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 8, 2024
Unfortunate for Lam. His night is over.
Indeed, Bagley has a point. Lamoureux is 6’6” and weighs nearly 200 pounds. He’s a big player and covers a lot of ice. Therefore, it’s easy to see how it could be challenging for Lamoureux to quickly dart out of the way to avoid a harsh collision.
But there’s also something else at play, here. Hockey is a contact sport. Therefore, plays like these are bound to happen. The replay does not conclusively show that Lamoureux purposely stuck his leg out to injure Toropchenko. As a result, the game misconduct call was unwarranted.
Of course, Joseph’s reaction was completely justifiable. I would have done the same thing if I had been on the ice.
However, the larger point is that because of NHL guidelines, the officials had to act the way they did. The league has tried hard to crack down on potentially dangerous plays over the years. As a result, Lamoureux got tossed.
In addition, the league will surely review the play, potentially leading to disciplinary action. While it’s unlikely that Lamoureux gets suspended, a fine may be in order. We shall see what action the league takes, if any, following this incident.
In the meantime, Pierre-Oliver Joseph officially welcomed Maveric Lamoureux to the world of NHL fistiana.