With the Stanley Cup now decided and the NHL season wrapped up, attention turns from who lifted the trophy to which teams paid the highest price away from the scoreboard.
As NHL fans begin looking back on the season and ahead to next year’s early storylines, including team form, discipline records, and NHL betting sites, Canada Sports Betting analyzed confirmed fines, suspensions, and forfeited salary from the 2025-26 season to reveal which teams lost the most money through discipline.
Below, we rank the NHL teams that lost the most money to fines and suspensions this season, before breaking down the costliest individual incidents.
Key findings
Overall, Canada Sports Betting ranked NHL teams by confirmed money lost through fines and suspension salary forfeitures during the 2025-26 season.
Boston Bruins top the ranking
First, the Bruins lost $301,875 across two confirmed discipline rows, driven largely by Charlie McAvoy’s six-game suspension.
Tampa Bay recorded the most discipline incidents
Meanwhile, the Lightning ranked second for money lost, with $190,562 across nine confirmed fines and suspensions.
Suspensions drove most of the cost
In addition, suspension salary forfeitures accounted for $501,172 of the total money lost, compared with $355,984 from fines.
Charlie McAvoy had the costliest individual case
Finally, McAvoy’s playoff suspension was the largest single money-lost incident in the dataset, with a calculated salary forfeiture of $296,875.
NHL teams lost $857k-plus to discipline this season
Overall, confirmed fines and suspension salary forfeitures totalled $857,155. Suspensions accounted for $501,172, while confirmed fines added another $355,984.
NHL teams paying the biggest price for fines and suspensions
Overall, teams are ranked by confirmed money lost from fines and suspension salary forfeitures.
Top 10 teams by money lost
Confirmed money lost: In short, this includes NHL fines, team/coach fines and forfeited salary from suspensions.
Sortable team-by-team table
| Rank ↕ | Team ↕ | Confirmed money lost ↕ | Incidents ↕ | Fines ↕ | Susp. ↕ | Games ↕ | Biggest punishment ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston BruinsBOS | $301,875.00 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | $296,875 — Charlie McAvoy (Slashing) |
| 2 | Tampa Bay LightningTBL | $190,562.08 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 6 | $100,000 — Tampa Bay Lightning (Preseason line-brawl vs Florida) |
| 3 | Vegas Golden KnightsVGK | $100,000.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $100,000 — John Tortorella (Media regulation violations) |
| 4 | Pittsburgh PenguinsPIT | $85,078.13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | $80,078 — Bryan Rust (Illegal check to the head) |
| 5 | Ottawa SenatorsOTT | $42,187.51 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | $33,854 — Ridly Greig (Roughing / sucker punch) |
| 6 | New York IslandersNYI | $28,333.33 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | $20,833 — Jonathan Drouin (Cross-checking) |
| 7 | Florida PanthersFLA | $17,213.54 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 — Brad Marchand (Unsportsmanlike conduct) |
| 8 | Toronto Maple LeafsTOR | $12,031.25 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | $7,031 — Bobby McMann (High-sticking) |
| 9 | Anaheim DucksANA | $9,864.58 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 — Frank Vatrano (Unsportsmanlike conduct) |
| 10 | Dallas StarsDAL | $9,604.17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 — Mikko Rantanen (Cross-checking) |
Remaining teams ranked 11 to 23 | |||||||
| 11 | Utah MammothUTA | $7,500.00 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 — Sean Durzi (Headbutting) |
| 12 | Carolina HurricanesCAR | $7,358.94 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 — Seth Jarvis (High-sticking) |
| 13 | Winnipeg JetsWPG | $6,510.42 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $6,510 — Logan Stanley (Roughing) |
| 14 | Colorado AvalancheCOL | $5,000.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 — Josh Manson (Butt-ending) |
| 15 | Detroit Red WingsDET | $5,000.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 — Ben Chiarot (Butt-ending) |
| 16 | New Jersey DevilsNJD | $5,000.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 — Brenden Dillon (Boarding) |
| 17 | Nashville PredatorsNSH | $4,843.75 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $2,500 — Steven Stamkos (Unsportsmanlike conduct) |
| 18 | Calgary FlamesCGY | $4,687.50 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $4,688 — John Beecher (Roughing) |
| 19 | Buffalo SabresBUF | $3,515.63 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $3,516 — Beck Malenstyn (Goaltender interference) |
| 20 | Montreal CanadiensMTL | $3,385.42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $3,385 — Arber Xhekaj (Roughing) |
| 21 | Chicago BlackhawksCHI | $2,604.17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $2,604 — Matthew Grzelcyk (Cross-checking) |
| 22 | Vancouver CanucksVAN | $2,500.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $2,500 — Tyler Myers (Slashing) |
| 23 | Washington CapitalsWSH | $2,500.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $2,500 — Brandon Duhaime (Unsportsmanlike conduct) |
Source: Canada Sports Betting analysis of NHL.com releases, Spotrac fine data and calculated CBA-formula values where clearly marked.
Fine vs suspension cost
Suspension salary accounts for the larger share of the total confirmed money lost, while fines still made up a sizeable share of the season-long discipline bill.
The costliest individual fines and suspensions
In addition, individual player, coach and team punishment rows are ranked by confirmed money lost.
Top 10 costliest individual punishments
Transparency note: For transparency, “calculated” means the punishment was confirmed, but the dollar figure was calculated using the CBA salary-forfeiture approach.
Sortable incident-level table
| Rank ↕ | Player / team ↕ | Team ↕ | Phase ↕ | Discipline ↕ | Offence ↕ | Confirmed money lost ↕ | Games ↕ | Source / status ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie McAvoyD | Boston Bruins BOS |
Playoffs | Suspension | Slashing (Zach Benson) | $296,875.00 | 6 | Calculated |
| 2 | John Tortorella (head coach)Coach | Vegas Golden Knights VGK |
Playoffs | Fine | Media regulation violations (appeal denied) | $100,000.00 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning (team)Team | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Fine | Preseason line-brawl vs Florida | $100,000.00 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 4 | Bryan RustRW | Pittsburgh Penguins PIT |
Regular season | Suspension | Illegal check to the head (Brock Boeser) | $80,078.13 | 3 | NHL.com |
| 5 | J.J. MoserD | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Suspension | Boarding (Jesper Boqvist) — preseason | $35,156.26 | 2 | NHL.com |
| 6 | Ridly GreigC | Ottawa Senators OTT |
Playoffs | Suspension | Roughing / sucker punch (Sean Walker) | $33,854.17 | 2 | Calculated |
| 7 | Jon Cooper (head coach)Coach | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Fine | Preseason line-brawl vs Florida | $25,000.00 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 8 | Jonathan DrouinLW | New York Islanders NYI |
Regular season | Suspension | Cross-checking (Connor Dewar) | $20,833.33 | 1 | NHL.com |
| 9 | Scott SabourinRW | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Suspension | Roughing (Aaron Ekblad) — preseason | $16,145.84 | 4 | NHL.com |
| 10 | Bobby McMannC | Toronto Maple Leafs TOR |
Regular season | Suspension | High-sticking (Oliver Bjorkstrand) | $7,031.25 | 1 | NHL.com |
Remaining incidents ranked 11 to 25 | ||||||||
| 11 | Logan StanleyD | Winnipeg Jets WPG |
Regular season | Suspension | Roughing (Brady Tkachuk) | $6,510.42 | 1 | NHL.com |
| 12 | William NylanderC | Toronto Maple Leafs TOR |
Regular season | Fine | Inappropriate gesture (press box) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 13 | Frank VatranoRW | Anaheim Ducks ANA |
Regular season | Fine | Unsportsmanlike conduct (Jason Robertson) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 14 | Evgeni MalkinC | Pittsburgh Penguins PIT |
Regular season | Fine | Slashing (Logan Stanley) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 15 | Brenden DillonD | New Jersey Devils NJD |
Regular season | Fine | Boarding (Tyler Bertuzzi) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 16 | Ben ChiarotD | Detroit Red Wings DET |
Regular season | Fine | Butt-ending (Simon Nemec) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 17 | Brad MarchandLW | Florida Panthers FLA |
Regular season | Fine | Unsportsmanlike conduct (Rasmus Dahlin) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 18 | Mathew BarzalC | New York Islanders NYI |
Regular season | Fine | Slashing (Mason Marchment) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 19 | Nikita ZadorovD | Boston Bruins BOS |
Playoffs | Fine | Cross-checking (Rasmus Dahlin) | $5,000.00 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 20 | Josh MansonD | Colorado Avalanche COL |
Playoffs | Fine | Butt-ending (Michael McCarron) | $5,000.00 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 21 | Mikko RantanenRW | Dallas Stars DAL |
Playoffs | Fine | Cross-checking (Kirill Kaprizov) | $5,000.00 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 22 | Sean DurziD | Utah Mammoth UTA |
Playoffs | Fine | Headbutting (Rasmus Andersson) | $5,000.00 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 23 | Seth JarvisRW | Carolina Hurricanes CAR |
Regular season | Fine | High-sticking (Conor Garland) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 24 | Anton LundellC | Florida Panthers FLA |
Regular season | Fine | High-sticking (Jake Guentzel) — 28 Dec | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 25 | Anton LundellC | Florida Panthers FLA |
Regular season | Fine | High-sticking (Alexandre Texier) — 9 Jan | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
Remaining incidents ranked 26 to 37 | ||||||||
| 26 | Brandon HagelLW | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Fine | Aggressor in altercation (Rasmus Dahlin) | $5,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 27 | John BeecherC | Calgary Flames CGY |
Regular season | Suspension | Roughing (Michael McCarron) | $4,687.50 | 1 | NHL.com |
| 28 | Tyler KlevenD | Ottawa Senators OTT |
Regular season | Fine | Cross-checking (Jared McCann) | $4,166.67 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 29 | Beck MalenstynLW | Buffalo Sabres BUF |
Playoffs | Fine | Goaltender interference (Jakub Dobes) | $3,515.63 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 30 | Arber XhekajD | Montreal Canadiens MTL |
Playoffs | Fine | Roughing (Sam Carrick) | $3,385.42 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 31 | Gage GoncalvesC | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Fine | Cross-checking (Evan Rodrigues) — preseason | $3,125.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 32 | Ross JohnstonLW | Anaheim Ducks ANA |
Regular season | Fine | Roughing (Tye Kartye) | $2,864.58 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 33 | Jamie BennLW | Dallas Stars DAL |
Playoffs | Fine | Cross-checking (Ryan Hartman) | $2,604.17 | 0 | NHL.com |
| 34 | Matthew GrzelcykD | Chicago Blackhawks CHI |
Regular season | Fine | Cross-checking (Tim Stutzle) | $2,604.17 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 35 | Bo HorvatC | New York Islanders NYI |
Regular season | Fine | Unsportsmanlike conduct (Sharks bench) | $2,500.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 36 | Tyler MyersD | Vancouver Canucks VAN |
Regular season | Fine | Slashing (Connor McDavid) | $2,500.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 37 | Steven StamkosC | Nashville Predators NSH |
Regular season | Fine | Unsportsmanlike conduct (Jeremy Lauzon) | $2,500.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
Remaining incidents ranked 38 to 49 | ||||||||
| 38 | Brandon DuhaimeRW | Washington Capitals WSH |
Regular season | Fine | Unsportsmanlike conduct (Jacob Melanson) | $2,500.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 39 | Ian ColeD | Utah Mammoth UTA |
Regular season | Fine | Dangerous trip (Steven Stamkos) | $2,500.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 40 | Jackson BlakeRW | Carolina Hurricanes CAR |
Regular season | Fine | Slashing (Jacob Trouba) | $2,358.94 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 41 | Michael McCarronRW | Nashville Predators NSH |
Regular season | Fine | Slashing (Trevor van Riemsdyk) | $2,343.75 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 42 | A.J. GreerLW | Florida Panthers FLA |
Regular season | Fine | Roughing (Brandon Hagel) | $2,213.54 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 43 | Nick CousinsC | Ottawa Senators OTT |
Regular season | Fine | Slashing (Ivan Demidov) | $2,148.44 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 44 | Roman SchmidtD | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Fine | Cross-checking (Carter Verhaeghe) — preseason | $2,098.52 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 45 | Hayden HodgsonRW | Ottawa Senators OTT |
Regular season | Fine | Boarding (Alex Newhook) | $2,018.23 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 46 | Scott SabourinRW | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Fine | Slashing (Niko Mikkola) | $2,018.23 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 47 | Curtis DouglasC | Tampa Bay Lightning TBL |
Regular season | Fine | Aggressor in altercation (Niko Mikkola) | $2,018.23 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 48 | Beckett SenneckeRW | Anaheim Ducks ANA |
Regular season | Fine | Diving/Embellishment (2nd citation) | $2,000.00 | 0 | Spotrac |
| 49 | Mikko RantanenRW | Dallas Stars DAL |
Regular season | Fine | Diving/Embellishment (2nd citation) | $2,000.00 | 0 | NHL.com |
Source: NHL.com, Spotrac and calculated CBA-formula values where clearly marked.
Methodology overview
First, teams were ranked by total confirmed money lost from NHL fines and forfeited salary linked to suspensions. The dataset includes confirmed player fines, coach/team fines and suspension salary forfeitures from the 2025-26 season.
Canada Sports Betting verified official discipline details using NHL.com league and Player Safety releases where available. In addition, Spotrac fine data was used to identify and cross-check published fine amounts.
In cases where the league confirmed a suspension but did not publish a dollar figure, forfeited salary was calculated using the NHL CBA method and clearly marked as calculated. Finally, hearing notices, rumours, duplicate pages, off-ice misconduct cases and incidents without a confirmed punishment or monetary impact were excluded.
Source note: Analysis based on NHL.com releases, Spotrac fine data and clearly marked calculated salary-forfeiture values.
