Photo credit: All Montreal Hockey / NHL
Things are heating up for the Ottawa Senators, and Gary Bettman has just sent a very clear message regarding helmet-free warmups.
The little trend started by Ottawa in Las Vegas – where the entire team jumped on the ice without helmets before facing the Golden Knights – has become a superstition ever since they finally won there after six straight losses in the city of sin.
Other clubs like San Jose and New Jersey have copied the approach, and it is starting to seriously irritate league headquarters.
The rule states that all players who made their NHL debut starting in the 2019-2020 season must keep their protective helmet on during warmups, while some veterans retain a grandfathered exemption.
League executives confirmed that an official reminder will be sent to the teams involved, including Ottawa.
Gary Bettman tightens the screws on the Ottawa Senators
For Canadiens fans, the issue hits a nerve. Over the past few seasons, rookies like Lane Hutson or even Connor Bedard have regularly been fined for their traditional helmet-free rookie lap.
When a single young player gets dinged for a magical moment, but an entire team skates bareheaded without immediate consequences, it makes people in Montreal grind their teeth.
“For now, teams will not receive fines. But players will be warned.
They expose themselves to a $5,000 fine each if they break the rule.”
– TVA Sports
Lane Hutson, incidentally, is right in the middle of all this. At 21 years old, the Canadiens defenceman already has 4 goals and 16 assists for 20 points in 24 games this season, while playing more than 22 minutes a night for a salary of $950,000 and an entry-level contract that will soon give way to a massive $70.8-million extension.
When your star defenseman pays every detail of the rulebook to the last cent, you look differently at a rival team turning warmup into a helmet-free parade. In the end, everything points to the same question: how far is the NHL willing to go in tolerating this “no-helmet” superstition that has become the Senators’ trademark?
After the warnings, the next logical step is real fines for multiple players at once.
If Ottawa takes the ice without helmets again, do not be surprised to see Gary Bettman move from words to penalties.
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NHL sends a firm warning as the Senators’ helmet-free warmup faces possible sanctions
Should the NHL crack down on the Senators for the no-helmet warmup?