"He deserves a medal" "JOKE of a dept": NHL fans react as Johnathan Kovacevic's cross-check on Matthew Tkachuk lands him $1,996.53 fine

New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic got a $1,996.53 fine for his hit on Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk. The incident took place during Tuesday night’s Devils-Panthers game. Fortunately, Tkachuk was fine. The NHL Department of Player Safety’s (DoPS) punishment for the incident has generated mixed reactions from fans across the league.

Here’s a look at what some fans had to say.

“He deserves a medal, not a fine,” a fan said.

“Money well spent lol,” another fan wrote.

“Every time a Tkachuk gets cross-checked an angel gets their wings … and new skates,” an X user wrote.

However, not all fans chose to poke fun at the news. Some fans voiced their displeasure at the lack of effective punishment the DoPS issues as a means of protecting players.

“JOKE of a dept. Utter joke!” a fan posted on X.

“LMAOO A JOKE,” another fan remarked.

“Oh spare me, this is BS,” this fan wrote.

As the DoPS highlighted in their Tweet, the fine issued to Kovacevic for the cross-check on Matthew Tkachuk was the maximum amount allowed under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Perhaps that amount could get revised as part of upcoming CBA negotiations. In the meantime, Kovacevic got the maximum penalty allowed by the current set of rules.

Matthew Tkachuk is no stranger to fines of his own

Matthew Tkachuk is no stranger to getting fined for cross-checking. Tkachuk has earned a bad reputation for dishing out hard hits from behind. In 2023, Tkachuk was fined $5,000 by the DoPS for his hit during that year’s playoffs.

In Game 4 of the Boston Bruins- Florida Panthers first-round series, Matthew Tkachuk cross-checked the then-Boston player Garnet Hathaway during the closing moments of the first period.

Tkachuk got a minor penalty for the incident. But upon later review, Tkachuk was handed a hefty fine for his antics. The severity of the cross-check, leaving Hathaway in need of medical assistance, prompted the DoPS’s reconsideration.

In contrast, Kovacevic’s hit on Matthew Tkachuk, while serious enough to warrant a fine, didn’t injure Tkachuk or require him to get medical assistance. Fortunately, the play was nothing more than just a scary incident.

The DoPS has been adamant about reprimanding players for dangerous plays as safety has become one of the NHL’s top priorities in recent years. The number of injuries that ended or derailed players' careers over the years prompted the NHL to become increasingly strict regarding player safety.

While the incidence of dangerous plays has gone down, it’s worth pointing out that hockey is a contact sport and potentially dangerous plays can happen inadvertently.