Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was given a $5000 fine from NHL Player Safety for his interference penalty on Jake Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The play in question happened early in the third period of Monday night’s game. Ekman-Larsson was in the neutral zone trying to cut off the lane that Guentzel was trying to skate through and get a breakaway. Instead of corraling the puck, Ekman-Larsson opted for a reverse hit that knocked Guentzel to the ice, resulting in an interference penalty on the play.

The $5000 fine issued to Ekman-Larsson is the maximum allowable under the CBA for an interference infraction. The hit was certainly an impactful one and while some may question why it needed further supplemental discipline, a fine is obviously a better outcome than a suspension. This is the second time in his career that he got further discipline from the DoPS with his last one being a slash in March 2018.

The fine is a minor blemish on what was an otherwise strong showing for Ekman-Larsson on Monday. He was imposing his will physically with a team-leading four hits, finished second behind Jake McCabe for TOI among Leafs’ defencemen with 21:40, and Toronto outshot Tampa Bay 14-6 when he was on the ice.

Ekman-Larsson’s Leafs tenure is off to a flying start as he has quickly emerged as one of their most dependable blueliners in the early going. He has brought snarl and physicality, played soundly defensively, and made creative offensive plays to help generate quality scoring chances. It did not take him long to get promoted to the top power-play unit which, while not firing on all cylinders just yet, has seen plenty of great looks with Ekman-Larsson quarterbacking it.

He is in the first season of a four-year contract he signed with the Leafs on July 1st which carries an AAV of $3.5 million. Last season, he helped guide the Florida Panthers to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Through the first six games of this campaign, Ekman-Larsson has registered four assists while averaging a team-leading 22:13 TOI.