NHL disciplines Devils' Evan Rodrigues, Blackhawks' Frank Nazar

The play was originally called spearing, but that was rescinded, and Rodrigues instead received a double minor for high-sticking. No penalty was called on Rossi.

Rodrigues had earlier incurred a $2,500 fine for tripping in a 2021 game, but that's his only other fine to date. He has no suspensions so far in his 12‑year pro career. The money from this incident goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund, per NHL.com.

Rodrigues, Nazar disciplined by league for separate infractions

Rodrigues, 32, a Toronto native who was a member of Boston University's 2015 NCAA national runner-up squad, tallied 42 goals and 79 assists for 121 points in his four-year college career with the Terriers. Undrafted by the NHL, he joined Buffalo as a free agent in 2015, and played in western New York for parts of three years before heading to Pittsburgh for three seasons. After one winter in Colorado, he moved on to Florida, where he won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025 with the Panthers before joining New Jersey this year. In 620 career NHL regular-season games as of now, he has collected 107-163—270 points.

Rodrigues' fine, though, was veritable chump change compared to the other college player-related NHL suspension that was recently handed down.

Frank Nazar of the Chicago Blackhawks received a two-game suspension without pay for an illegal check up high on Islanders' captain Bo Horvat late in a 4-1 road loss on Thursday as Horvat was scoring an empty-net goal. The resulting fracas saw New York's Logan Stanley and Chicago's Tyler Bertuzzi both earn misconducts.

The suspension will cause Nazar, who had scored Chicago's lone goal that evening just a minute before the incident, to forfeit $68,041 in salary, along with the two games he will have to sit out.

Nazar received a five-minute match penalty on the play that was served by teammate Oliver Moore, along with a 10-minute misconduct. It was the first league discipline of any kind that he has received so far in his short NHL career.

Nazar, 22, who hails from Detroit, played two years at the University of Michigan, where he tallied 19-29—48 points, with 41 of those points coming his sophomore year as he helped the Wolverines to the NCAA Frozen Four in both of his college campaigns. Drafted 13th overall by Chicago in 2022 out of the U.S. National Development Team Program, he has notched 30-41—71 points in 127 career NHL regular-season outings with the Blackhawks.