David W Cerny/Reuters via Imagn Images
Hockey players who fight at the Winter Olympics do so knowing they’ll be ejected from the game, but that didn’t stop France’s Pierre Crinon from dropping the gloves with Canada’s Tom Wilson on Sunday. Neither man will face additional discipline from the organization overseeing the tournament, but the former managed to land in hot water with his home team thanks to his checkered past.
The 2026 Winter Olympics mark the first time NHL players have taken part in the men’s hockey competition since 2014, and the guys who earned the right to take to the ice in Milano Cortina had to adjust to some differences in an event that’s governed by the rules that are dictated by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Those tweaks don’t really change the flow of the game that much, although NHL fans might notice players aren’t thrown out of the face-off circle if they commit a violation (they can be sent to the sin bin if they mess up after the initial warning) and play stays at 5-on-5 when two off-setting penalties are called at the same time.
However, there is one pretty noticeable difference: the lack of fighting incentivized by the threat of a game misconduct for anyone who decides to engage in some fisticuffs.
Tom Wilson is no stranger to throwing hands in the NHL, so it’s only natural that he was at the center of a fight with a French player when he recorded a rare Gordie Howe hat trick in the Olympics while Canada was cruising to a win.
The IIHF declined to dole out any supplemental punishment in the wake of the contest, but his sparring partner may be getting some from his own team after living up to the reputation that led to some fans arguing he should have been left off the roster.
France’s hockey team subjected Pierre Crinon to a formal hearing after he fought Tom Wilson at the Winter Olympics
I’m going to assume the vast majority of people reading this are not intimately familiar with Pierre Crinon, the 30-year-old defenseman who has spent the past five seasons playing for Brûleurs de Loups in Ligue Magnus, the top pro league in France.
2026 marks the first time Crinon has played for France at the Winter Olympics, and the decision to give him the nod was not without controversy due to fans who argued he shouldn’t be allowed to represent his country given his dirty history; in December, he was hit with a seven-game suspension for leaving an opposing goaltender covered in blood after drilling him with a sucker punch during a fight.
When it comes to his style of play, Crinon has a lot in common with, well, Tom Wilson, and the two of them ended up being treated to an early exit during Canada’s 10-2 win over France on Sunday when the latter decided to get some retribution for an elbow the former threw at the face of Nathan MacKinnon before earning a trip to the penalty box.
Nothing more embarrassing than Tom Wilson getting massacred by a French beer leaguer. pic.twitter.com/SfP2zWCliV
— Penguins Jesus (@PenguinsJesus) February 16, 2026
France (which went 0-3 in group play) will be facing off against Germany in the qualifying round, while an undefeated Canadian squad that looks like the team to beat will be facing the winner of the showdown between Czechia and Denmark after earning a bye into the quarterfinals.
The IIHF could have decided to suspend both of them for those contests, but it announced they’ll both be allowed to lace up their skates after reviewing the fight. However, the bout (and the elbow that led up to it) has drawn the scrutiny of the French Hockey Federation, which announced it will be subjecting Crinon to a formal hearing for his behavior during the game.
It is very doubtful his presence (or lack thereof) will end up having an impact for a French team that’s all but certain to see its Olympic run come to an end against Germany, so it’ll be interesting to see if they decide to send a message.