The embellishment crackdown continues.
Richard Panik became the seventh NHL player exposed by the league for diving Thursday when he was slapped with a $2,000 fine under NHL Rule 64.
Panik is the first Toronto Maple Leaf to be fined for embellishment. The forward was issued a warning following an incident flagged by NHL hockey operations during Toronto’s game at Montreal on Feb. 14.
His second citation, which triggered the fine, was handed out for this incident on March 1. At 10:57 of the second period, Panik drew a holding penalty on Washington Capitals defenceman Mike Green:
If Panik is caught diving again, the fine will escalate to $3,000.