- Durzi fined $5,000, the max under the CBA, for head-butting Andersson in the first period of Game 1
- Linesman had a clean look but Durzi skated with just a minor for roughing on the ice
- Read below for the video, Elliotte Friedman’s take, and what it means for Game 2
Sean Durzi is down $5,000 for Game 1.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Monday that the Utah Mammoth defenseman has been fined the maximum allowable under the CBA for head-butting Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson during Sunday’s opener at T-Mobile Arena. It happened at 16:32 of the first period.
Here’s the video. Durzi leans his helmet into Andersson’s face during a scrum with the linesman standing right there.
Durzi got a minor for roughing on the play. The on-ice officials passed on a major, which surprised a lot of people. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was one of them.
“If they wanted to, they could call it a head-butt,” Friedman said on the broadcast. “It’s a five-minute major and a game misconduct, that’s what the rulebook says. Durzi’s fortunate here. They gave him a break.”
The clip bounced around overnight. Plenty of fans wanted a suspension. The league went with the fine.
Five grand is the most Player Safety can hand out under the current CBA. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. No supplementary suspension, no change to Durzi’s availability for Game 2.
Vegas took the opener 4-2 after Mark Stone, Nic Dowd, and Ivan Barbashev all scored in the third period. Andersson finished the game without issue.
That first-period scrum set the tone for a chippy night that also ended with Dowd shouting at Logan Cooley past the final buzzer.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. Utah trails 1-0 in its first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance as the Mammoth. Durzi has been a top-pair defenseman for this franchise since arriving from the Kings in 2023. Player Safety’s full release is on NHL.com.
