Red Wings' Darren Helm fined $5,000 for ugly slash on Flames' Elias Lindholm

While his wallet is now a little lighter, Darren Helm of the Detroit Red Wings dodged a suspension for his vicious slash to the back of Elias Lindholm’s leg in Calgary on Thursday night.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced on Friday afternoon that Helm has been fined $5,000 for his actions. That is the maximum fine allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The 32-year-old was slapped with a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play, which occurred in the third period at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Shortly after the Flames extended their lead to 4-1, Helm and Lindholm began their back-and-forth before the puck was even dropped at centre ice.

The two wingers got tied up during the draw and Lindholm ended up falling to the ice while Helm broke into Calgary’s defensive zone with his teammates. Lindholm picked himself up and skated right at Helm, delivering a hit on the Stanley Cup winner moments after he fired a shot that missed Calgary’s net.

As play continued and tensions were high between the two, Lindholm clocked Helm with an elbow as he skated by. Helm then fell to the ice and picked himself up before attempting to chop down the 24-year-old Swede with one vicious swing.

For his part in it all, Lindholm was assessed a two-minute minor for interference. And while he was helped off of the ice and didn’t return to the game, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan has reported that Lindholm sustained no serious injury as a result of the slash.

If you’re hoping for a fiery Flames-Red Wings rivalry to emerge from all of this, you’ll have to wait. The two sides don’t face each other again until Feb. 23 when they clash at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

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