Photo credit: Darren Yamashita Imagn Images
The NHL Department of Player Safety has officially lost the room, and the double standard protecting the back-to-back champs is now impossible to ignore.
Fans have been screaming about it for months.
They watch the Florida Panthers cross the line, game after game, with zero consequences.
But when Charlie McAvoy takes to social media, people listen.
The Bruins defenseman didn’t just complain about a missed call; he posted the aftermath of a brutal hit to the chin from Florida’s Sandis Vilmanis.
One side of the frame shows the contact. The other shows McAvoy’s swollen, purple jaw.
It’s visceral proof of what happens when the league refuses to blow the whistle.
McAvoy isn’t the only one with a grievance.
Recall Sam Bennett’s elbow on Anthony Stolarz?
That’s just another Tuesday for the Panthers.
The disciplinary numbers are actually embarrassing
One fan broke down the math, and it is staggering.
Since April 2025, despite a montage of questionable hits, the Panthers have faced exactly one suspension and one fine.
Compare that to their heated rivalry with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Over the last seven matchups, the Lightning have been hit with roughly $135,000 in fines and two player suspensions totaling six games.
That isn’t a discrepancy; that is a protective bubble around a dynasty.
It might be time to look at the front office org charts.
Gregory Campbell serves as the Assistant General Manager for the Florida Panthers.
His father, Colin Campbell, just happens to be the NHL’s Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.
The man overseeing the league’s operations is watching his son’s team get a free pass on headshots and dirty plays.
You can’t claim player safety is the priority when one team plays by 1970s rules while everyone else gets nickeled and dimed.
If the league wants to stop the headhunting, they need to stop treating the Panthers like they’re untouchable.
Until then, expect more swollen jaws and more angry tweets.
Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily
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The NHL has a massive Florida Panthers problem, and Charlie McAvoy just brought the receipts
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