NHL Fines Leafs' Sheldon Keefe and Sabres' Don Granato $25,000 Each for Unprofessional Conduct

The NHL handed out fines to the coaches of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Maple Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe and Sabres coach Don Granato were each fined $25,000 for unprofessional conduct toward the officials. The money for the fines go to the NHL Foundation.

Granato's actions came on Tuesday in a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers. At just over nine minutes into the third period, Sabres forward Zach Benson received a penalty for tripping Niko Mikkola. Granato was visibly upset with the call and received a bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. He continued to shout and point at the officials after receiving the penalty. The Panthers scored the eventual game-winner on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play.

Also on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs trailed the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 with five minutes left in the third period when Mitch Marner received a tripping penalty.

Although the Maple Leafs killed the penalty, Keefe continued to argue the call with officials more than two minutes later, and he was tossed from the match with a game misconduct. The Leafs ended up losing 6-2.

Both coaches had different things to say after the games, with Granato mentioning a couple of incidents that happened before the call on Benson.

"What I watched transpire in that game, from one minute before the incident where they give Greenway a double-minor, (Panthers forward Nick) Cousins goes into Greenway," Granato told the media post-game. "The whistle blows, (Cousins) initiates it by going to shoulder into Greenway's chest, then has his hands up and protects himself and goes down, and Greenway gets four out of it. That's just not right.

“A minute before that, you watch (Peyton) Krebs take punches to the head, with no call whatsoever, with linesmen in between, and he's still taking punches to the head," Granato added. "At some point, you’ve got to stand up for your team. You're put in that position as a coach, it's a tough position to be in, but you can't sit and watch."

Keefe took a different approach, having previously been fined $25,000 for unprofessional conduct in December 2022.

"Not going there," he told reporters.

On Thursday, Keefe addressed the ejection again, saying it's a chance for him to reflect and grow with it so he's always focused on the next moment in the game, although he didn't necessarily feel he lost control on Tuesday.

"I think there is a there is a fine line (with) being the voice for the players at different times, to try to be the voice so that they don't have to be," Keefe told reporters. 

Both teams are back in action on Thursday, with the Sabres facing the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Maple Leafs hosting the Arizona Coyotes.