There's late hit where you're coming across the ice and hit a guy ~2 seconds late with the intention to injure him (like Kadri on Wingels) and there's a late hit where you hit him 1/4 of a second late where it is more a case of timing than anything. Given how much scrutiny he gets (including from the refs who always take him off for misconduct in any altercation no matter if he's at fault) and how many hits he throws the fact that he only had one suspension during the regular season/playoffs in 5 years speaks to him toeing the line. He had suspensions in the preseason but then evolved his game to the point where he didn't get any more suspensions until the Pens series.
Even if he starts passing up more hits in response to the changing league guidelines he'll still be effective because of how little he flinches when taking a hit while having the puck. Half our top line goals begin with him cleanly handing the puck over to Ovechkin or Kuznetsov while getting wiped out by a defender who takes himself out of the play in the process, leaving them with a scrambling defense and a ton of space.
