Ryan Leonard's Baseball-Swing High Stick Bloodies Cody Glass and Draws Only a Double Minor

Washington winger Ryan Leonard caught New Jersey centre Cody Glass in the face with a baseball-style swing of his stick 5:39 into the second period on Saturday, opening a gash near Glass’s right eye. The officials called only a four-minute double minor for high-sticking, with no major penalty and no ejection, and Glass was back on the ice less than four minutes later. The Capitals lost 7-4, and no Player Safety hearing had been announced by Saturday night.

What happened on the play?

Glass made the hockey play and Leonard answered with the stick. Washington was up 3-2 and on a power play early in the second period when Glass poked the puck off Leonard’s stick along the sideboards. Leonard came around with a full swing, the kind of motion a batter makes, and caught Glass up high. Russian Machine Never Breaks reports the swing opened a gash near the Devils forward’s right eye, and Glass dropped to the ice right away before heading down the tunnel hurting. The video of the play went viral on social media within the hour, and the question in every clip was the same: how did that draw only four minutes.

Why was it only a double minor?

Because the officials called what they saw, and what they saw was blood. A high stick that draws blood is a double minor by rule, and that is the call the referees made. What they did not appear to catch was the intentionality of the swing, which is what separates a double minor from a major penalty and an ejection. Nobody on the ice called a major, and Leonard stayed in the game. The gap matters because the league has drawn the line before: Frank Nazar got two games for an illegal check to the head earlier this season, and the difference between a four-minute penalty and a suspension is often decided by whether the officials thought the act was deliberate. The replay makes it hard to argue the swing was an accident, but the officials judged it in real time, and real time is the version that counts on the scoresheet. Washington has also seen the other side of this coin: Anthony Mantha’s boarding major knocked a player out earlier this season and no Player Safety hearing was announced, so a big penalty on the night does not guarantee a league ruling later. And intent is judged in the moment all over the league: Fraser Minten was sent to the box for a teammate’s slash and talked the referee out of it earlier this season.

How badly was Glass hurt?

Badly enough to bleed, not badly enough to miss a shift. Glass was cut near the right eye and left the ice hurting, but he returned less than four minutes later and finished the game with one assist in 11:20 of ice time. His assist extended his point streak to four games. That quick return is the fact that will shape whatever Player Safety decides: the league weighs injury heavily, and a player who misses no time rarely draws the longest ban. It also means New Jersey lost nothing on the night from the incident itself, which is not the same as saying the play was acceptable. A stick to the face that opens a cut is a dangerous play whether or not the victim stays in the game.

Will the NHL suspend Leonard?

No, and the answer came on Sunday morning. The Department of Player Safety fined Leonard $2,448.45, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for the high stick on Glass, and announced no suspension. It is the first supplemental discipline of the 21-year-old’s career. The case for a hearing had been straightforward: a stick swung like a baseball bat at a player’s head is exactly the kind of play the department reviews, whether it was intentional or merely careless. The case against a long ban was the outcome: Glass returned quickly, and the on-ice officials settled on four minutes. Washington has a recent comparison in its own building: the league fined a player 5,000 dollars for a stick jab that was downgraded from a spear to a double minor earlier this season. The ruling still leaves a comparison hanging: Gustav Nyquist got six games in 2017 for a similar stick to the face of Jared Spurgeon, and The Hockey Writers held that up as the baseline for suspension talks before the fine was announced. Player Safety chose the fine instead, and the money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

How did the game turn after the penalty?

Against Washington, and fast. The Capitals killed the four-minute power play, but the kill bought them nothing: Jesper Boqvist tied the game at 10:33 of the second, Timo Meier gave New Jersey its first lead at 16:18, and the Devils pulled away for a 7-4 win. New Jersey swept the home-and-home after winning 5-2 in Newark on Thursday, and improved to 13-2-0 in its last 15 games. Connor Hellebuyck became the first NHL goaltender since Logan Thompson in 2024 to win his first seven decisions with a new team. It was the kind of wild night the league has had a few of lately: Detroit’s Alex DeBrincat, a 5-foot-8 scorer, dropped the gloves with Sam Bennett two nights earlier. The irony for Leonard is that he had the best night of anyone in a Washington jersey before the penalty: his seventh goal of the season, a one-timer through Hellebuyck at 14:34 of the first period, had put the Caps up 2-1. He also drew his 11th penalty of the season, tied for seventh most in the NHL, and the Capitals still lost by three.

What happens next?

Leonard plays on Tuesday, and the fine is the end of it. The Capitals visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, then return home to face Buffalo on Thursday before visiting Boston on Saturday. With no suspension, there is no lineup hole to fill: Ethen Frank and Ivan Miroshnichenko were healthy scratches on Saturday, but neither is needed as a replacement now. Washington is 10-8-0 after back-to-back losses to New Jersey, and the coach’s complaint after the game was about little moments, not the penalty. But the penalty is the moment that will follow Leonard: a maximum fine for a stick to the face, and a debate about whether the maximum is enough.

Update, November 15: Leonard fined the maximum, no suspension

Update note (November 15, 2026): This article tracked any Player Safety hearing or ruling on Leonard. The ruling is now in, and it is a fine, not a suspension.

The Department of Player Safety announced on Sunday that Ryan Leonard has been fined $2,448.45, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for high-sticking Cody Glass on Saturday, NHL.com reports. The incident came at 5:39 of the second period, when Leonard’s baseball-style swing caught Glass in the face and drew blood, and Leonard had already been assessed a four-minute double minor on the play. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. Sportsnet notes the fine is the first supplemental discipline of Leonard’s career: the 21-year-old is 102 games into his NHL life. Daily Faceoff adds that Leonard still scored and assisted in the 7-4 loss, and that the fine, the ceiling the CBA allows, will strike plenty of fans as light for a swing toward another player’s head that drew four minutes. The Capitals visit Tampa Bay on Tuesday with Leonard available, and the question the article asked on Saturday night is answered: the league looked, and it chose the fine.