⚖️ Biggest NHL suspensions ranked: Bertuzzi's $501,926 to Cooke

Bertuzzi's ban ran 17 months and cost $501,926. Refs wiped Chychrun's penalty; no league discipline is on record in AP's report. ⏳

By , sports desk · Desk editor Gustavs Ērkšķis-Kreicbergs · · 6 min read

Matt CookeRANKEDPhoto: Michael Miller · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Desaturated and cropped by MrScandal.

By the numbers

  • 10y 5mfrom first to latest entry on recordMar 2004 to Aug 2014, 5 dated entries in the file
  • 15receipts behind this story13 news reports, 2 statements, 2004 to 2026

Counted by MrScandal from the receipts, the Files and our rankings.

AP reported that on-ice officials Brandon Blandina and Beau Halkidis called a five-minute major on Washington's Jakob Chychrun for his Tuesday night hit on Ottawa's Nick Cousins, then watched replays and removed the penalty entirely because they judged there was no head contact. Senators coach Travis Green told reporters he "thought it was a head shot to a player that wasn't ready for it." AP notes the NHL's Department of Player Safety monitors plays like this for possible supplemental discipline. Chychrun is not quoted in the AP report.

What we know

  • AP reported that referees Brandon Blandina and Beau Halkidis took the penalty off the board after reviewing Jakob Chychrun's hit on Nick Cousins on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.
  • The longest suspension on the archived Jamie Fitzpatrick list is 30 games, given to the Islanders' Chris Simon for stomping on Jarkko Ruutu's leg in December 2007.
  • The NHL suspended Todd Bertuzzi on March 11, 2004; it cost him $501,926.39, and the Canucks were fined $250,000. The Globe and Mail reported he was reinstated in August 2005 after missing 20 games, seven of them in the playoffs.
  • Bertuzzi pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm, per CBC Sports, and got a conditional discharge, a year's probation and 80 hours of community service.
  • Matt Cooke was docked $87,804.88 for a four-game suspension in February 2011, per the Toronto Sun, and drew seven games in April 2014, per the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

So how does the league's scoreboard look when it does act? MrMuscles has pulled the receipts: games lost, salary forfeited, and who said what. The ranking below goes by games, using the archived Fitzpatrick list of the longest suspensions, with the money added where a source gives it.

The scoreboard: longest bans on the list

PlayerWhenGamesOffence, per the list
Chris SimonDec. 200730Stomping on Jarkko Ruutu's leg
Chris SimonMar. 200725 minimumSlash to the face of Ryan Hollweg
Raffi TorresApr. 201225Hit on Marian Hossa in the playoffs
Jesse BoulericeOct. 200725Crosscheck to the face of Ryan Kesler
Marty McSorley200023Stick swung at Donald Brashear's head
Gordie DwyerSept. 200023Abusing officials, leaving the penalty box to fight
Todd BertuzziMar. 20042013 regular season plus 7 playoff games, for the Steve Moore attack
01

Chris Simon: 30 games, the top of the list

The Fitzpatrick list puts the Islanders' Chris Simon first, with 30 games for stomping on the leg of Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu in December 2007. The list calls it the seventh suspension of Simon's NHL career. He also appears with a 25-game minimum for a slash to Ryan Hollweg's face in March 2007.

See the receipt (opens in a new tab)
02

Raffi Torres: 25 games for a playoff hit on Marian Hossa

The same list records 25 games for Torres, then with Phoenix, for a hit on Chicago's Marian Hossa in April 2012. League disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan said: "Torres launched himself to deliver a late, direct hit to the head..." The list does not report Torres's response.

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03

Marty McSorley: 23 games, then a courtroom

ESPN reported in 2004 that the previous record suspension was 23 games, shared by Boston's Marty McSorley (2000) and Tampa Bay's Gordie Dwyer. McSorley was also convicted of assault with a weapon for hitting Donald Brashear with his stick. He received an 18-month conditional discharge, and ESPN says the NHL suspended him for a year.

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04

Todd Bertuzzi: $501,926.39 and a $250,000 team fine

On March 11, 2004, three days after Bertuzzi punched Colorado's Steve Moore from behind, the NHL suspended him for the rest of the season and the playoffs. The Los Angeles Times reported he would lose at least $501,926.39 in salary, and the Canucks were fined $250,000. Bertuzzi said in a public apology the day before the ruling: "I just want to apologize for what happened out there and I feel awful for what transpired." The Globe and Mail reported he was reinstated in August 2005, after missing 20 games including seven in the playoffs, and put on NHL probation for 2005-06.

See the receipt (opens in a new tab)

"It is severe."

Colin Campbell, then the NHL's director of hockey operations, quoted by the Los Angeles Times, March 12, 2004
05

Bertuzzi in court: a guilty plea and a confidential settlement

CBC reported that prosecutors charged Bertuzzi with assault causing bodily harm on June 24, 2004. He later changed his plea to guilty, and CBC Sports reported he received a conditional discharge, a year's probation and 80 hours of community service. The Globe and Mail added a $500 fine. In August 2014, AP reported that Moore's civil suit was settled, with Bertuzzi's lawyer Geoff Adair saying the terms are confidential. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the resolution lets the parties "turn the page."

See the receipt (opens in a new tab)

Matt Cooke: the repeat-offender file

06

Cooke's docked pay: $12,903.23, then $87,804.88

The Penguins' site, carrying an NHL announcement, said Cooke was suspended two games in January 2009 for a blow to Carolina's Scott Walker, forfeiting $12,903.23 to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. In February 2011 the NHL gave him four games for a hit from behind on Columbus's Fedor Tyutin. The Toronto Sun reported he was docked $87,804.88. Colin Campbell said Cooke was "considered a repeat offender under the League's supplemental discipline rules."

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07

Cooke 2011: 10 games plus a playoff round

ESPN reported that in 2011 Cooke was suspended for the Penguins' final 10 regular-season games and the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, after an elbow to the head of the Rangers' Ryan McDonagh. The Fitzpatrick list files it under "the rest of the season" bans.

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08

Cooke 2014: seven games for kneeing Tyson Barrie

The NHL's Department of Player Safety announced on April 23, 2014 that Cooke, by then with Minnesota, was suspended seven games for kneeing Colorado's Tyson Barrie in Game 3 of a playoff series. Cooke had been assessed a minor penalty on the play. Any games not served in the playoffs were to carry into the 2014-15 regular season.

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When the ruling was nothing

09

Cooke and Marc Savard, March 2010: no suspension

The Globe and Mail reported that the NHL reviewed Cooke's hit on Boston's Marc Savard, noted no penalty had been called, and decided not to suspend him. Colin Campbell said: "We couldn't find criteria that was consistent with suspending him." The paper reported the league was vowing to draft rules against blind-side head shots for the next season.

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10

Cooke and Erik Karlsson, February 2013: no hearing

ESPN reported that Karlsson's Achilles tendon was cut by Cooke's skate blade and that the NHL said there would be no hearing or supplemental discipline. The league did not view the play as illegal or malicious. Penguins GM Ray Shero told ESPN.com: "I can't rationalize where that was a dirty play or anything with intent."

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Where Chychrun's file stands

Against that record, the AP account of Chychrun's hit is a short entry: a penalty called, reviewed and removed, and a league department that monitors such plays. Nothing in the AP report says Player Safety has announced a hearing, fine or suspension. Chychrun has no comment on record there. Whatever comes next, the history above sets out how the league has ruled before.

Quick quiz · 3 questions

  1. On the record or still rumour?Bertuzzi was suspended by the NHL, forfeited $501,926.39 and pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm; Cooke's suspensions and dockings are in NHL announcements and press reports.
  2. On the record or still rumour?The Bertuzzi-Moore settlement terms are confidential, and the documents read do not confirm whether any suspension after 2012 tops the 30-game list.
  3. Which year?Bertuzzi pleads guilty in a B.C. court; conditional discharge, one year of probation, 80 hours of community service, per CBC Sports

More games on the record: Price Tag · Timeline

The Todd Bertuzzi file

Last entry Aug 19, 2014
  1. Reported

    Bertuzzi's lawyer says Steve Moore's civil suit is settled; AP reports the terms are confidential. This story

  2. Reported

    NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reinstates Bertuzzi, who is placed on probation for 2005-06, CTV reports. This story

  3. Admitted

    Bertuzzi pleads guilty in a B.C. court; conditional discharge, one year of probation, 80 hours of community service, per CBC Sports. This story

  4. Filed

    British Columbia prosecutors charge Bertuzzi with assault causing bodily harm, CBC reports. This story

  5. Reported

    NHL suspends Bertuzzi for the rest of the season and playoffs; the LA Times reports a loss of at least $501,926.39 in salary. This story

On file: The Todd Bertuzzi file · The Jakob Chychrun file · The Matt Cooke file

The Ledger

On the record

  • Bertuzzi was suspended by the NHL, forfeited $501,926.39 and pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm; Cooke's suspensions and dockings are in NHL announcements and press reports.
  • AP reports officials removed the penalty on Chychrun's hit on Cousins after review.

Still rumour

  • Whether the Department of Player Safety takes any step on the Chychrun hit is not stated in the AP report, and Chychrun has not commented publicly in the documents read.
  • The Bertuzzi-Moore settlement terms are confidential, and the documents read do not confirm whether any suspension after 2012 tops the 30-game list.

That's the record. The rest is rumour. - MrMuscles

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