Suspended: Paquette Gets 2 Games for Zegras Boarding

Have a seat, Cedric Paquette. The NHL Department of Players Safety doled out supplementary discipline to the Montreal Canadiens fourth-line winger on Monday. Paquette got the NHL gate for boarding Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras during the Canadiens lackluster 4-2 loss on Sunday.

The incident occurred at 10:14 of the first period. Officials assessed Paquette a major penalty and game misconduct.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Paquette will forfeit $9,500.00. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The DoPS released a video of the hit with an explanation.

The league stated Paquette had time to avoid the hit and the responsibility was on the Canadiens fourth-liner to deliver the hit legally. He neither pulled up nor made contact with anything but Zegras’s numbers. 

The NHL also noted this was not Paquette’s first offense. He was previously fined once and suspended once. In 2017, the NHL gave him a one-game suspension for boarding Boston Bruins Torey Krug. Paquette was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the time.

On Tuesday, Paquette will miss the Montreal Canadiens Original Six matchup against the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre and the home game against the gritty New York Islanders on Thursday. This season, Paquette is scoreless in eight games but has 21 penalty minutes, including 15 assessed on the Zegras hit.