Lightning‘s Scott Sabourin Suspended four Games by NHL Player safety
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Scott Sabourin has been suspended four games for cross-checking Florida Panthers forward Aleksi Heponiemi during a preseason game on October 4, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced today.
Sabourin was assessed a game misconduct for the play. The suspension will not be served in the AHL, meaning Sabourin must be on an NHL roster for four games for the suspension to be considered completed. With only four NHL games played over the past two seasons, Sabourin may face a lengthy wait to serve the suspension.
This is Sabourin’s first NHL suspension, though he has a history of disciplinary action. He was fined $1,900 in 2020 for unsportsmanlike conduct after squirting an opposing player with a water bottle from the bench. In the AHL, Sabourin has been suspended one game in 2017 after receiving an instigator penalty, one game in 2021, and three games in 2024.
In a related incident from the same game, Lightning defenseman JJ Moser was suspended two games for boarding Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist. The Department of Player Safety steadfast Moser delivered a hit that drove a “defenseless Boqvist dangerously into the wall,” noting the play involved a level of intentionality. Moser has not previously been fined or suspended in his NHL career.