Oilers' Connor McDavid hit with $5,000 maximum fine for elbow on Canadiens' Jesperi Kotkaniemi

The incident happened in a 4-0 loss against Montreal

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday that Connor McDavid was fined $5,000 for an elbow he threw to the head of Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The fine is the highest allowable under the current collective bargaining agreement.

The Oilers star earned his fine early in the first period. As Kotkaniemi was crossing center ice and passing the puck to a teammate, McDavid continued to skate towards him and threw up a high elbow on his opponent. He was given a minor penalty for roughing.

connor mcdavid woke up and chose violence today pic.twitter.com/sVrwBen64j

— zach laing (@zjlaing) March 30, 2021

The Canadiens eventually got the last laugh over the 24-year-old as they wound up defeating the Oilers 4-0. The loss was a source of frustration for McDavid as he told reporters, "I think we have had a good stretch, we've played good hockey for a long time now," and called the loss a "one-off." But while that weighed on his mind, what notably did not capture any of his attention was the elbow he threw earlier in the game.

mcdavid on his hit on kotkaniemi and emotions tonight with a goal called back: "i didn't think anything of it. just a normal night."

— zach laing (@zjlaing) March 31, 2021

The Oilers currently sit third in the North division, behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets, with McDavid having one of the best starts to a season an Oiler has ever had. His 63 points through 36 games is the most since 1987-88, when Wayne Gretzky scored an unfathomable 81, according to Sportsnet Stats.