One of Hockey’s Biggest Traditions Comes With Serious Consequences at the Olympics

France kicked Pierre Crinon off its Olympic hockey team for the rest of the 2026 Winter Olympics after he fought Canada’s Tom Wilson and taunted Canadian fans on his way off the ice during a 10-2 blowout loss.

KEY FACTS:

• On Feb. 15, Canada defeated France 10-2 in men’s Olympic hockey, and a fight broke out between Canada’s Tom Wilson and France’s Pierre Crinon in the third period.
• Both players were assessed two-minute roughing penalties and 25-minute fighting penalties, and both were ejected from the game.
• After his ejection, Crinon provoked Canadian fans in the stands on his way out.
• On Feb. 16, France suspended Crinon for the rest of the Olympics for violating the Olympic spirit.
• Olympic hockey follows International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules, which treat fighting far more severely than the NHL does.

How the Hockey Fight Started

Canada was already dominating when France’s Crinon delivered a hit on Nathan MacKinnon. Crinon received a minor penalty for the hit. Canada scored just 25 seconds into the resulting power play.

Minutes later, Wilson and Crinon were jawing at one another near the French net. Wilson then dropped his gloves — the universal signal in hockey that a player is ready to fight.

Crinon followed suit.

The two engaged in a brief but intense scrap, with Crinon eventually bringing Wilson to the ground. Unlike in the NHL, where referees typically stand back and allow willing fighters to settle their dispute before stepping in, Olympic officials were trying to break it up the moment it started, per ESPN.

Wilson finished the game with what hockey fans call a “Gordie Howe hat trick” — a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game — named after legendary Canadian player Gordie Howe.

The fight alone was dramatic. But after being ejected, Crinon didn’t go quietly.

He provoked Canadian fans in the stands, taunting the crowd as he left the ice. For a player already ejected for fighting under Olympic rules emphasizing sportsmanship, the moment drew widespread criticism.

France’s Swift Suspension

One day later, on Feb. 16, France suspended Crinon for the rest of the Olympics.

The team wrote in a statement: “Pierre Crinon’s provocative behavior when he came out of the ice, even though he had just been excluded from the match for a fight, is a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport.”

“A decision was therefore made, in full alignment with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, not to authorize his participation for the next meeting(s) of the Olympic tournament,” the team added.

The statement made clear: this was about representing your country — and falling short of the standard expected of an Olympian.

Why Fighting Is Treated So Differently at the Olympics

Men’s Olympic hockey follows International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules, not the NHL rule book.

IIHF Rule 46 states: “Fighting is not part of international ice hockey’s DNA. Players who willingly participate in a brawl or fight, so-called willing combatants, shall be penalized accordingly by the referee and may be ejected from the game. Further Supplementary Discipline may be imposed.”

The rules go further: attempting to continue a fight after being ordered to stop will “incur at least a major penalty plus an automatic game misconduct penalty in addition to any additional penalties imposed.”

Per Rule 20, major penalties are worth 5 minutes. An automatic game misconduct results in ejection.

The NHL rule book allows players to finish a fight before being assessed a major penalty worth 5 minutes.

In short: the NHL treats fighting as an infraction within the game. The IIHF — and by extension, the Olympics — treats it as fundamentally incompatible with the sport on the international stage.

Wilson plays in the NHL. Crinon plays in Ligue Magnus, the top men’s hockey division in France, which operates under IIHF rules.

What the Players Said

Canada Backed Wilson

Nathan MacKinnon, the player initially hit by Crinon, praised Wilson for standing up for him.

“That guy obviously didn’t want to fight Tom,” MacKinnon said. “He just wanted to wrestle. I wouldn’t want to fight Tom either,” MacKinnon said, per ESPN.

Canadian coach Jon Cooper downplayed the incident while backing his player.

“We’re used to a lot more than that happening, so it was pretty harmless in the grand scheme of things,” Cooper said. “Sticking up for his teammates, that’s an easy one for him.”

Connor McDavid, Canada’s leading goal scorer, defended Wilson and criticized Crinon’s initial hit.

“We didn’t like the hit, felt like it was late and high,” McDavid said. “Willy just finishes a check and the guy jumps him, and Willy’s just protecting himself. That’s all he can do. That’s the type of guy he is, type of teammate he is. Nothing but respect for him.”

France’s Goalie Called the Suspension a “Joke”

France’s goalie, Antoine Keller, was vocal against his own federation’s decision.

“We are a big family: When we come together, we come as brothers, and we just got rid of one of our brothers, so it’s a joke from the French Committee Olympic,” Keller said on Feb. 17, per the Associated Press.

“We need this player. We needed him today, and they just take it from us for something that just, like, happens every week in any hockey game, so I think that’s a joke,” he added.

Keller’s frustration highlights the tension at the heart of the story: what’s routine in professional hockey leagues is treated as a serious offense at the Olympics, where expectations for conduct extend well beyond the rule book.

The Bigger Picture

This incident is a collision of two competing cultures. In professional hockey, fighting is woven into the fabric of the game. At the Olympics, athletes are ambassadors for their nations, and competition is expected to be fierce but respectful.

Crinon’s fight, his taunting of fans, and France’s decision to suspend one of its own players serve as a vivid reminder: the Olympics aren’t just another tournament. The rules are different, the stakes are different, and the standard of behavior is different.

BOTTOM LINE: France’s decision to bench its own player — not a league ruling, not an Olympic committee mandate — shows how seriously nations take Olympic conduct standards, even when their own teammates disagree with the punishment.

Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.