Breakaway on SI

NHL Sets Hearing for Lightning Forward

The Tampa Bay Lightning may see a delay in the NHL debut of one of their bright young players.

Nick Horwat

Jul 7, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Conor Geekie shakes hands with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected as the number eleven overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Jul 7, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Conor Geekie shakes hands with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected as the number eleven overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are bitter rivals sharing the Sunshine State, and they showed the heat is still there even during the preseason. The two teams combined for 36 penalty minutes, but Lightning forward Conor Geekie was at the center of attention with 19.

Geekie’s actions earned him a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for violating a specific NHL rule. According to the department, in the second period, Geekie broke NHL Rule 70.2.

“Leaving the players’ bench on a legal line change for the purpose of starting an altercation.”

It’s important to note Geekie did not jump onto the ice to join a fight or start one as part of an illegal line change. That would be an automatic 10-game suspension.

The NHL believes Geekie waited for his shift before taking a run at Panthers’ forward Josh Davies.

Earlier in the second period, Davies lined up Lightning captain Victor Hedman with a big open ice hit. It was a clean hit, but the Lightning took acceptation to the play.

Nikita Kucherov immediately threw his gloves off and grabbed Davies, trying to instigate a fight. Kucherov was given a two-minute penalty for roughing. The Panthers scored on the ensuing power play chance, but things were just getting started.

About two minutes after the power play goal, Geekie started his shift and went for Davies. The two got involved in a fight, but Geekie was given multiple penalties including a game misconduct. Davies was only handed a fighting major.

Geekie will likely be suspended for his actions, especially since the initial hit that started everything was a clean, legal hit. No one was injured on the play and Kucherov already tried to take immediate retaliation.

20-year-old Geekie is yet to play a game at the NHL level. He was a first-round (11th overall) draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2023 and has yet to make his way on an NHL roster.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway OnSI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more! 

Published
Nick Horwat
NICK HORWAT

Home/News Feed Page