NHL fines Burrows $2,500 for comments

The National Hockey League has fined Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows $2,500 for conduct deemed detrimental to the NHL and the game of hockey. The League made the announcement Wednesday night.

On separate plays during the third period of a 3-2 Vancouver loss to the Nashville Predators on Jan. 10, Referee Stephane Auger assessed Burrows minor penalties for diving, interference and unsportsmanlike conduct.

After the game, Burrows made the following comments to the media: "It was personal. It started in warm up before the anthem. The ref (Auger) came over to me and said I made him look bad in Nashville on the Smithson hit (during a game Dec. 8, 2009). He said he was going to get me back tonight and he did his job in the third . . . "

Burrows said his teammates "are battling hard for 60 minutes to win a hockey game because every two points are so huge, so important, and because of a guy's ego it just blows everything out of proportion and they're making bad calls and the fans are paying for it and we're paying for it.

"I think he (Auger) should sit out the rest of the year making calls like that."

NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell issued the following statement:
 
"The National Hockey League will not tolerate the personal nature of the comments Mr. Burrows directed at Referee Auger or the fact that he brought into question the integrity of both the official and the game.

"We have determined that Mr. Burrows’ account of Referee Auger’s comments to him before the game, and specifically Burrows’ suggestion that these comments indicated bias against the player or the Vancouver team, cannot be substantiated. While Referee Auger engaged the player in a brief conversation prior to the opening face-off, I firmly believe that nothing inappropriate was said and that Referee Auger’s intentions were beyond reproach."