Devils' John Hayden fined for nasty cross-check to face of Red Wings' Tyler Bertuzzi

While John Hayden may have been trying to stand up for teammate Jack Hughes on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings, the 25-year-old likely won’t be paying for any dinners the rest of the week as a result.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced on Wednesday that Hayden has been fined $2,016.13, the maximum amount allowed under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, for cross-checking Tyler Bertuzzi in the face.

Hayden received a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play, which occurred with less than a minute remaining in the third period. The Devils went on to win the game 4-1.

The sequence of events wasn’t all that different from what occurred between Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens and Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins about two weeks ago. While that interaction occurred before a faceoff instead of during play, Gallagher — like Bertuzzi — ended up with a stick whacking him above the shoulders. And like Hayden, Chara walked (skated?) away with just a fine.

Hayden is currently in his first season with the Devils after being traded from the Chicago Blackhawks over the summer. A big body in New Jersey’s bottom six, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound wrecking ball has two goals, three points and 75 penalty minutes in 37 games this season.

Bertuzzi, meanwhile, has been one of the few bright spots on a Red Wings team battling through a very bleak campaign. The 25-year-old leads the team with 18 goals while his 41 points puts him second behind just Dylan Larkin.

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