Jonathan Toews gets misconduct for tossing stick into stands (GIF)

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews took a pretty rare 10-minute misconduct on Sunday when he unintentionally tossed a broken stick into the stands.

By Brian Stubits

Jan 19, 2014 at 9:14 am ET • 1 min read

Jonathan Toews doesn't get a lot of misconducts on the ice, a guy with a nickname like Captain Serious isn't known for losing his composure.

On Sunday against Boston, though, Toews earned himself a 10-minute misconduct for something you don't see everyday: throwing his stick into the crowd. Not that he did it intentionally, his stick snapped on a shot and he chucked it out of frustration. It just so happened to go over the boards and into the stands.

Toews didn't seem to be aware he did anything wrong, giving the referee a look of bewilderment (and so did Bryan Bickell) when the Blackhawks bench was informed of what happened (via @GoldAndOrSmith).

The Blackhawks may have been confused because it's not a call you see very often at all but the rules are the rules and this one is pretty clear in the rulebook.

53.4 Misconduct or Game Misconduct Penalty -- A misconduct penalty shall be imposed on a player who unintentionally or accidentally throws his stick or any part thereof or any other object or piece of equipment outside the playing area. If the offense is committed intentionally, a game misconduct penalty shall be assessed to the offending player. If the offense is committed in protest of an official's decision, a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct plus a game misconduct penalty shall be assessed to the offending player.

By the letter of the law, this one was called correctly. Toews wasn't assessed a minor penalty, just the 10-minute misconduct, so the Blackhawks didn't have a penalty to kill. In fact, in the time that Toews was in the box, the Blackhawks scored to even the game at 2-2. Regardless, not something you see all that often.