FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The NHL has suspended Tampa Bay forward Scott Sabourin four games and defenseman J.J. Moser for two games for their actions in the Lightning's preseason finale against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
Additionally, the Lightning organization was fined $100,000 and Lightning coach Jon Cooper was fined $25,000, the NHL said without further explanation.
The Lightning called up six players from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse for the game; those six combined for 77 penalty minutes and five of the six drew either a match penalty, misconduct or game misconduct during the matchup.
The NHL rulings, handed down Monday, means Sabourin will forfeit $16,145.84 — or roughly $850 for every second that he played in Saturday's penalty-filled debacle. Moser will lose $35,156.26.
It's unclear when Sabourin will serve the suspension, since the Lightning sent him back to Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Monday. Sabourin played in only one NHL game last season.
Sabourin — who was on the ice for only 19 seconds Saturday — was given a match penalty for going after Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad just 2:17 into the game. That hit set the tone for a matchup where officials called 65 penalties, issued 13 game misconducts and handed out 312 penalty minutes.
At one point, the Lightning had three skaters on their bench.
“That was a first for me,” Cooper said after that game. “I think we had more coaches than players on the bench at one point.”
Moser's suspension came for boarding Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist during that game. Moser was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct.
There were so many penalties called that the on-ice crew evidently lost track of who had been kicked out. Florida's Niko Mikkola was credited with an assist midway through the third period on a goal by Boqvist that was disallowed about 15 minutes later because Mikkola was unaware he had been ejected earlier in the period — and therefore ineligible to be playing.
“It got silly. It got stupid by the end of it,” Florida forward Evan Rodrigues said that night. “It wasn’t really hockey out there.”
Sabourin was one of six players called up Friday by Tampa Bay for Saturday's game. Those moves came one day after the Lightning and Panthers had another preseason game featuring 49 penalties and 186 penalty minutes.
Ekblad left Saturday's game after the hit from Sabourin. He was able to practice Monday and is expected to play when the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions open their season at home Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Scott Sabourin (46) and Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) trade blows during the first period of an NHL hockey preseason game, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Scott Sabourin (46) and Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, right, trade blows during the first period of an NHL hockey preseason game, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) and Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Scott Sabourin (46) fall to the ice during the first period of an NHL hockey preseason game, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
BEIJING (AP) — Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday.
Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from about 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.
“It has been a historic and productive two days,” Carney said, speaking outside against the backdrop of a traditional pavilion and a frozen pond at a Beijing park. “We have to understand the differences between Canada and other countries, and focus our efforts to work together where we’re aligned.”
Earlier Friday, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations between their two nations after years of acrimony.
Xi told Carney in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People that he is willing to continue working to improve ties, noting that talks have been underway on restoring and restarting cooperation since the two held an initial meeting in October on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea.
“It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement,” China's top leader said.
Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, said better relations would help improve a global governance system that he described as “under great strain.”
He called for a new relationship “adapted to new global realities” and cooperation in agriculture, energy and finance.
Those new realities reflect in large part the so-called America-first approach of U.S. President Donald Trump. The tariffs he has imposed have hit both the Canadian and Chinese economies. Carney, who has met with several leading Chinese companies in Beijing, said ahead of his trip that his government is focused on building an economy less reliant on the U.S. at what he called “a time of global trade disruption.”
A Canadian business owner in China called Carney's visit game-changing, saying it re-establishes dialogue, respect and a framework between the two nations.
“These three things we didn’t have,” said Jacob Cooke, the CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps exporters navigate the Chinese market. “The parties were not talking for years.”
Canada had followed the U.S. in putting tariffs of 100% on EVs from China and 25% on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor.
China responded by imposing duties of 100% on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood. It added a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds last August. Collectively, the import taxes effectively closed the Chinese market to Canadian canola, an industry group has said. Overall, China's imports from Canada fell 10.4% last year to $41.7 billion, according to Chinese trade data.
China is hoping Trump’s pressure tactics on allies such as Canada will drive them to pursue a foreign policy that is less aligned with the United States. The U.S. president has suggested Canada could become America's 51st state.
Carney departs China on Saturday and visits Qatar on Sunday before attending the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. He will meet business leaders and investors in Qatar to promote trade and investment, his office said.
Associated Press business writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, arrives to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
