Josh Manson fires back after McCarron calls him dirty

Michael McCarron called Josh Manson 'a dirty player' after a butt-end to the face. The Avs' d-man's response: 'Did I want to punch him in the head? I did'

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

May 11, 2026, 9:38 PM

Follow on Google News

Watch: |

Michael McCarron didn’t mince words after the first period of Game 4.

“I mean, you played against Josh. He’s a dirty player. He’s always been,” the Wild forward said to his former Montreal teammate P.K. Subban. “Surprised he got away with only a 4-minute. I’m happy he’s still in the game.”

Wow, Wild forward Michael McCarron calls Josh Manson "a dirty player" during his intermission interview with PK Subban on @ESPN, after Manson hit him with the butt-end of his stick in the first period.

“I mean, you played against Josh. He’s a dirty player. He’s always been. Umm,… pic.twitter.com/byZqc0q0ig

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) May 12, 2026

The incident came at 7:07 of the first period, when Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson was assessed a double-minor for butt-ending McCarron. The two were tangled up along the boards when Manson jabbed the butt end of his stick into McCarron’s face. Officials initially let play continue, then stopped it and called a five-minute major — before reviewing the play and downgrading the penalty to a four-minute double minor. Manson stayed in the game.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson received a double-minor penalty for butt-ending Michael McCarron of the Minnesota Wild. The refs reduced what was a major penalty called on the ice after video review. More on the play — and the rule: https://t.co/coFcZcZ4C9 pic.twitter.com/GacbUl0h6h

— Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) May 12, 2026

Minnesota made Colorado pay. Danila Yurov scored a power-play goal at 9:46, giving the Wild a 1-0 lead off the Manson penalty.

After the Avalanche rallied for a 5-2 win, Manson didn’t shy away from the play — or McCarron’s comments.

“I mean, he hits me, but then he lands on me. So I didn’t really like that, to be honest with you. We’re in a scrum, and I just, I mean, I butt ended him. Was it on purpose? Was that my intention? Absolutely not,” Manson said. “My intention wasn’t to butt end him. Did I want to punch him in the head? I did want to punch him in the head.”

“I was trying to give him a smack because I didn’t like that he landed on. I didn’t think that was fully necessary. But, you know, I served my four minute penalty. They looked at it and, yeah, like I said, it wasn’t my intention to butt end him in the face. It was more trying to smack him in the head. I think I just lost awareness of where the grip was.”

As for the “dirty player” label?

“That’s fine. If he wants to call me a dirty player he can look at my history,” Manson said. “It’s been 13 years and I haven’t been suspended yet, so obviously I’m not that dirty. … Was that the cleanest play? No. Was it purposeful? No.”

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar shed some light on the moment.

“I’m not sure exactly what their options are when they make that call,” he said. “I was just hoping that it didn’t have to be a major because I didn’t think it was vicious enough to be a five-minute major and a game misconduct. So at that point, I was just kind of hoping for the best, and that Manson would be able to stay in the game. I think they probably made the right call.”

Manson finished with 14:39 of ice time, a minus-1 rating and the one penalty for four minutes in his return from injury after missing the first three games of the series.

Game 5 is at Ball Arena, the Avs lead 3-1.