The NHL cited Rantanen for an act of embellishment. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen fined $2,000 for diving

By Zac Wassink | Last updated May 6, 2021 5:51 PM ET

Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen bought a minor penalty for tripping in the second period of the April 30 game against the San Jose Sharks via an incident involving Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro:

Mikko Rantanen fined $2000 for diving pic.twitter.com/f05XtUdueh
— Ali Matthews (@AliMatthews34) May 6, 2021

After having some time to examine the situation, the NHL cited Rantanen for an act of embellishment, or diving. Since it's the second time this season the 24-year-old was flagged by NHL Hockey Operations for flopping, he received a $2,000 fine as supplementary discipline:

For those asking about Malkin and the diving, the NHL fines based on citations issued by Hockey Ops Dept. The scale: pic.twitter.com/TJcStXUrus
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) December 21, 2014

Rantanen was first issued a warning for a dive he committed versus the Arizona Coyotes on March 23. All fine money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. A coach is fined only after players on his team collect a total of four fines for diving.

According to ESPN stats, Rantanen began Thursday third in the NHL with 29 goals this season.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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