NHL fines Nyquist, Trocheck for embellishment

Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist is on pace for a single season career-high in goals with 15 in the first half.

He's also guilty of embellishment, the NHL says.

The league fined Nyquist $2,000 on Wednesday for a second incident of embellishing a penalty call in order to draw the attention of referees.

The money isn't designed to be a deterrent to a player, but the public shaming is. Nyquist is the second player cited, following the Nashville Predators' James Neal last month.

Nyquist was given a warning on Nov. 28, and his reaction to a Dec. 29 tripping call against the Boston Bruins' Chris Kelly triggered the fine.

Later Wednesday, the league also docked Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck for embellishment.

He warned after a Dec. 12 incident. His second case occurred when he fell on a tap to the leg by Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik. The referees called Orpik for slashing.

The rulebook calls for a $3,000 fine for a third incident, $4,000 for a fourth and $5,000 for each incident after that.

A team's coach would start being fined for his team's fifth embellishment call.