Adam Erne punished by NHL Player Safety for dirty elbow on Bellemare

This just in, NHL Player Safety has fined Edmonton Oilers forward Adam Erne has been fined $2,018.23 for elbowing Seattle Kraken forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare last night.

Check it out:

The play happened midway through the 3rd period with the Oilers down 3-1 to the Kraken at that point in the game. Erne was penalized on the play.

Here's the play in question:

Ouch... safe to say that he Erne'd it...

Bad jokes aside, this is a brutal elbow with a pretty paltry penalty. You really think that a $2,000 slap on the wrist is going to stop players from pulling this kind of crap? Not a chance.

The real irony is that this hit seemed to spur the Oilers on in the 3rd period. The team would rally to score three straight for an overtime victory.

In any case, Bellemare looked no worse for wear and ended up completing the game, so I'm sure that that factored into the decision making from NHL Player Safety. On the other hand, Erne has been suspended by NHL Player Safety before. Back in 2013 when he was still just a rookie with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Erne was suspended three preseason games for an illegal hit to the head of then St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Sobotka.

The 28 year old Erne has suited up for seven games with the Oilers this season, putting up zero goals and zero points so far. He also has just one goal in four points with the team's AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors. He signed a professional tryout (PTO) contract with the Oilers during training camp and ended up earning himself a league-minimum deal after making the team during the preseason.

He was previously with the Detroit Red Wings for the past four seasons, where he played mostly in a depth role on the 3rd and 4th lines. His best campaign came in 2020-21 when he managed 11 goals and 20 points in just 45 games. In total he has 40 goals and 89 points in 362 career NHL games split between the Oilers, Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning (who drafted him 33rd overall back in 2013).