"Joke of a league" "refs were absolutely terrible": NHL fans react as Sharks' HC Ryan Warsofsky gets fined $25,000 for inappropriate conduct

San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky was fined $25,000 by the National Hockey League on Tuesday for what the league referred to as "inappropriate conduct." Warsofsky was agitated during Saturday's game against the Utah Hockey Club after a hit by Utah's Kevin Stenlund on Macklin Celebrini went unpenalized; thankfully, Celebrini avoided injury.

It wasn't the only missed call that Warsofsky was bothered by, and he's paying the price - literally.

Meanwhile, the Utah Hockey Club secured both points in the standings after Clayton Keller scored the game-winning goal with under a minute remaining in regulation.

After Warsofsky's fine was announced by the NHL, frustrated fans took to social media to express their opposition to the Sharks' head coach's punishment.

"Absolute f***ing joke of a league," wrote @SonnySJS.

"Max a player can be fined 5k, head coaches 25k. Make it make sense," opined @Surelockholmes.

"NHL Execs to Bettman: 'The officiating is getting worse every year. What can we do to improve it?' Bettman: 'Let's double the fines for players & coaches who criticize the refs. That will fix the problem!'" opined @jaydee602.

Fans also criticized what they believe is poor officiating by the NHL referees.

"God forbid you criticize the joke that is NHL officiating . NHL is an embarrassment," added @1MinuteMan.

"This is dumb. The refs ought to be fined for bad calls then," added @Bacon_Ranch_.

Meanwhile, one fan was pleased that Warsofsky still got to yell at the refs.

"good for him those refs were so absolutely terrible they deserved every word he yelled at them," wrote @sharkcudarie.

Ryan Warsofsky reacts to his $25,000 fine

Ryan Warsofsky was asked about his thoughts on the fine ahead of the Sharks' game against the Jets on Tuesday, but he declined to elaborate further on the matter.

“I’m not going to get into what happened. We’re moving on. Emotions, emotional sport, and we’re going to move on,” he said. “Get ready for tonight,” Warsofsky said per NBC Sports Bay Area.

Ryan Warsofsky is in his first season in charge of the Sharks. He took over from David Quinn after the Sharks were the NHL's worst team in 2023-24. Warsofsky was previously an assistant in Quinn's staff, joining San Jose in 2022.

So far in 2024-25, wins have been difficult to come by for the Sharks. They're 11-17-5 and currently occupy the second-to-last spot in the NHL's Pacific Division.

They'll have a chance to go for their 12th win of the season when they take on the Winnipeg Jets at SAP Center; puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 PM EST.