NHL delivers a laughable verdict on Matthieu Olivier’s dirty slash

The Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets squared off on Tuesday night in a game that had plenty of fireworks, including Brady Tkachuk's spectacular natural hat trick in his breakthrough performance with his new team, but the focus quickly turned to a dirty move by Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier.

Olivier was ejected after slashing Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis below the belt. He was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for the infraction, which drew immediate attention across the hockey world.

The play quickly went viral, with everyone wondering if Olivier would be suspended.

On Wednesday, the league’s Safety department announced that Olivier would only be fined $5,000 for slashing Balinskis. That’s $2,500 a ball…

The ugly moment overshadowed what was otherwise a memorable night for the Panthers. Brady Tkachuk scored his first three goals in a Florida sweater, all in the same period, to complete a natural hat trick against Columbus. The performance came after a rocky start to his Panthers career following his blockbuster trade from the Ottawa Senators. Adding a family twist to the evening, all three of Brady's goals were assisted by his brother, Matthew Tkachuk.

Still, the conversation after the final horn kept circling back to Olivier's ejection, and I can only imagine the conversation will intensify over his small punishment.