Wild’s McCarron on Av’s Manson: ‘He’s a dirty player’

Manson received a double-minor penalty for the infraction, with the Wild scoring on the opening goal in the second half of the four minutes. There’s currently no word on whether Manson will receive supplemental discipline for the play or not.

While it did go on to benefit Minnesota in that sense (despite the loss), McCarron wasn’t a fan of the play – or Manson in general.

“He’s a dirty player,” McCarron said on the ESPN broadcast after the first period. “Always has been. Surprised he got away with only a 4-minute. I’m happy he’s still in the game.”

Manson was also asked about it after the game, and he was a bit more defensive of the incident.

“He hits me, but then he lands on me. I didn’t really like that”, Manson said. “I butt ended him. Was that on purpose, was that my intention? Absolutely not. Did I want to punch him in the head? I did want to punch him in the head.

“If he wants to call me a dirty player he can look at my history. It’s been 13 years and I haven’t been suspended yet, so obviously I’m not that dirty. Was that the cleanest play? No. Was it purposeful? No.”

Manson is, in fact, correct on his history. Not only has he not been suspended in his career, he hasn’t been fined in more than 10 years, last doing so when he made a throat-slashing gesture as a member of the Anaheim Ducks to then-Toronto Maple Leaf Nazem Kadri. Manson and Kadri are now teammates, and also were for the final few months of the 2021-22 season during the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup run.