Tampa Bay Lightning, Cooper Fined for Role in Panthers Game

FORT LAUDERDALE — Not long after the Florida Panthers got their 2025 Stanley Cup championship rings Monday night, word came down that the NHL had fined the Tampa Bay Lightning as well as coach Jon Cooper for their roles in the events which led to Saturday’s brawl-filled preseason game in Sunrise.

The Lightning were fined $100,000; Cooper was fined $25,000.

The money goes to the Club Fine Fund which is “used for charitable purposes.”

The Lightning brought up six players from AHL Syracuse but did not release their game lineup to the Panthers until a few hours before Saturday’s game in which 322 combined penalty minutes were called and 19 players were hit with match penalties or 10-minute game misconducts.

One of those players was Scott Sabourin. He got his night started just over 2 minutes into the game by running Aaron Ekblad into the end boards before throwing punches as the Florida defenseman went down.  

Sabourin ended up hitting Ekblad in the face with his stick; Ekblad left the game 2:18 in and did not return.

Ekblad is fine, however, and will play in Florida’s opener Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Earlier on Monday, Sabourin — who, again, had already been assigned to the AHL — was suspended four NHL games without pay ($16,145.84).

He will be able to play in the AHL but if the Lightning call him up, he has to serve the suspension before he can join the NHL team on the ice.

A total of four Tampa Bay players were either suspended or fined: J.J. Moser got two games ($35,156.26); Roman Schmidt ($2,098.52) and Gage Goncalves ($3,125) were fined.

No Florida players were fined nor suspended.

Although neither Cooper nor Florida coach Paul Maurice would talk much about the wild preseason game afterward, Tampa Bay is thought to have been upset with the Panthers and A.J. Greer for what happened a few nights prior in Tampa.

In a preseason game Thursday, Greer took out Brandon Hagel along the boards then began throwing punches. That game drew 186 penalty minutes.

Although Greer was not targeted early, he certainly got involved, jumping into a scrum and giving Charle-Edouard D’Astous a few raps to the head.

The Panthers and Lightning do not play again until Nov. 15.

“Listen, this is a time of year that kids are trying other make teams and they’re trying to make impacts on the organization,’’ Cooper said postgame. “There’s players out there that haven’t been in our organization. And so you’ve got to give the kids credit for working — working to try and make the team. You don’t go into games thinking they’re gonna be like that.“

Said Evan Rodrigues: “It just got silly, got stupid. By the end of it, it wasn’t really hockey out there.”

ON DECK: OPENING NIGHT

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS at FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Tuesday, 5 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: ESPN
• Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM/104.3 FM; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL/Panthers App
• Last Season: Tied 1-1
• This Season — At Florida: Tuesday; At Chicago: Jan. 25
• All-time Regular Season Series: Blackhawks lead 30-20-4, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. (Local TV)