Oilers coach Tom Renney fined $10K for suggesting NHL wants ‘Hollywood’ in Stanley Cup Playoffs

After Monday night's loss at the Los Angeles Kings, Coach Tom Renney let off a few weeks' worth of steam regarding officiating in his Edmonton Oilers' games.

After the Kings were yet another opponent with a power play advantage, Renney was asked why the Oilers didn't draw more penalties; his response:

The NHL interpreted "they" as "hey, this dude's accusing us of fixing games in order to make sure a team from Los Angeles qualifies for the playoffs." So the League announced late Tuesday that Renney had been fined $10,000 for his critical comments, which must stink for a lame duck coach.

(Also, it bears repeating that Renney's conspiracy theory is complete nonsense, unless the NHL is so inept at pulling the strings that the Kings still haven't clinched a playoff berth with two games to go.)

The $10,000 fine is the going rate for ripping the game officials, like the one Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville received in 2009 for claiming a Matt Walker penalty was "the worst call in the history of sports."

It is, however, one third of the $30,000 fine New York Rangers coach John Tortorella received for his own C-O-N-Spiracy after the Winter Classic, in which he claimed the NHL's broadcast partner NBC had entered into a secret cabal with the referees to extend the game into overtime.

Renney should be happy that he escaped without the sarcasm trippler …