Penguins vs. Rangers: NHL Wrong to Fine John Tortorella for Passionate Comments

New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella was very passionate in his comments after his team lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, but there's no way he deserved a fine for what he said. 

Tortorella didn't hold back on his feelings about the Penguins, and in typical Torts fashion, he gave his honest opinion. That opinion ultimately cost him $20,000 on Friday when he was fined for the following comments.

Via Puck Daddy:

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"It's a cheap, dirty hit. I wonder what would happen if we did it to their two whining stars over there. I wonder what would happen. So I'm anxious to see what happens with the League over this. Just no respect among players. None. It's sickening."

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"It's one of the most arrogant organizations in the league. They whine about this stuff all the time, and look what happens."

"It's ridiculous. But they'll whine about something else over there, won't they, starting with their two (expletive) stars."

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For the record, I haven't heard of Evgeni Malkin, one of the stars Tortorella is referring to, being a whiner.

The hit Tortorella is talking about occurred in the third period when Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik kneed Rangers forward Derek Stepan and was ejected. It was a dirty hit and cheap hit—no question.

Stepan has 51 points this season and is a major contributor to the Rangers offensively. Thankfully, he escaped injury.

The Penguins get away with a number of things after the whistle or away from the action, yet they're always surprised when teams call them out for it.

Last week against the Flyers, Penguins star Sidney Crosby was crosschecked by Brayden Schenn, and Crosby was very angry at the young Flyers forward. However, just minutes earlier, Crosby delivered an unneeded late hit on Schenn.

Crosby is a hypocrite, and he's proven that this season. He made it quite known last summer that the league needed to address head shots, then in one of this first games back, he threw an elbow at the head of Ottawa Senators defenseman Nick Foligno.

Crosby responded to Tortorella's comments on Friday, saying that calling him a whiner is "garbage."

The reason players love playing for Tortorella is because he stands up for them, and he's willing to say what other coaches are afraid to express.

Tortorella shows a ton of passion and makes some comments about the Penguins that many would agree with, yet in typical NHL fashion, he's fined. Whether you think his comments were wrong or not, what he said was simply not deserving of a fine.

Would Tortorella have been fined if his criticism was about the Phoenix Coyotes or Florida Panthers? Doubt it. 

This fine was an absolute joke.

Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.

Follow @NicholasGoss35