Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson was fined $5,000 by the NHL on Tuesday, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, for hitting Minnesota Wild center Michael McCarron with the blunt end of his stick Monday night.
Manson was called for a double minor penalty for his actions, which occurred during a scrum midway through the first period in Game 4, won by the Avalanche 5-2 as they took a 3-1 series lead.
McCarron called out Manson after the game.
"He's a dirty player. He's always been," McCarron said. "Not very well-respected."
Manson was checked hard into the boards by McCarron, losing his balance and pulling McCarron down to the ice with him. As Manson tried to get loose from McCarron's bear hug, he sent a slight jab of his stick at the side of McCarron's face that caused him to recoil in apparent pain.
Manson threw his hands up in disbelief after the review for a major penalty was announced, and after a longer-than-usual evaluation, the call came for the double minor that went in the books for "butt-ending."
"I blew him up, and he grabbed me and pulls me on top of him," McCarron said. "He took his butt end and clearly butt ended me in the face. I don't know how it's not a five-minute. I think the rulebook says it's a five-minute if you butt end someone in the face."
Manson was mostly upset that McCarron landed on him after the hit, but he said he didn't purposely try to injure him and lost awareness of where his grip on the stick was during the scrum.
"My intention wasn't to butt end him. Did I want to punch him in the head? I did want to punch him in the head," Manson said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
