Paul Maurice punished by NHL for criticizing refs in game against Leafs

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice let the media know on Tuesday night there's not a fan of NHL officiating.

The veteran head coach went on a bit of a tirade after his team dropped a 5-4 OT decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, suggesting that the Leafs get more benefit of the doubt than other NHL teams.

In particular, Maurice listed off a few examples.

"Radko Gudas hits as a clean a hit as you can level -- stick on stick, body on body," said Maurice following the game. "A charge? They're both going in the same direction. No problem with the guys going to the net at all. That's hockey."

"I don't know what those guys were doing out there, but it wasn't Florida Panther friendly," said Maurice, referring to the officiating.

Even more inflammatory though was Maurice's assertion that he believes the officiating has to do with a grudge that the officials have against him personally. He explained to his players that it's not their fault and that the game should have been officiated differently.

"I just explained to 'em, it had nothing to do with my players; it had to do with me and a relationship that I have with one of the referees. That's what that was all about. So, just go out, keep your mouth shut, and play the game.

Well... that was enough for the NHL to hand over a whopping $25,000 fine to Maurice.

Really?

$25k for criticizing the officials in a game that featured some pretty lopsided officiating? That's so soft...

A player gets a penalty for attempt to injure and they get a maximum $5,000 fine, but Maurice calls it like it is and gets dinged an extra $20k? Something's not right here...

The truth of the matter is that the NHL is only covering its own ass in instances like this. It's obvious that they don't want ANYONE talking about their referees and will do anything short of ACTUALLY working with the refs to improve officiating in order to cover their own ass.