Flyers List Sean Couturier, Carter Hart As Day-To-Day
Flyers forward Sean Couturier is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, while netminder Carter Hart is out day-to-day with a mid-body injury, per an announcement from the team Friday morning.
Hart’s injury, aggravated in Wednesday night’s loss to the Sabres, was previously reported but was expected to be longer-term. An official injury designation of day-to-day from the team suggests it may not be as severe as Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo reported yesterday.
That’s good news for the Flyers, who have cooled off after a hot start and now sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-5-1 record. Hart’s play this season has been strong, recording a .913 SV%, 2.52 GAA, and one shutout. He’s on track to have his second straight season above league average after back-to-back disappointing campaigns in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
The Flyers’ goaltending options behind Hart leave much to be desired. Hopes were high for 24-year-old Samuel Ersson entering the season after a strong campaign in the starter’s net for AHL Lehigh Valley, but he hasn’t been up to the task thus far. In two starts, the Swedish netminder has allowed 14 goals on just 59 shots, resulting in a ghastly .763 SV% and 4.91 GAA. Third-string netminder Felix Sandström, who made the Flyers out of camp, had a 3-12-3 record and .880 SV% in 18 starts last season and is currently on a conditioning loan to Lehigh Valley. 29-year-old veteran Calvin Petersen, recalled yesterday to serve as Ersson’s backup while Hart is injured, has just a .884 save percentage in four games with Lehigh Valley to kick off 2023-24.
Meanwhile, more injury trouble is not a positive for Couturier, who’s missed practices this season with a lower-body ailment. It’s unclear whether this is a different injury or a reaggravation of the one that’s been bothering him, but it is a sigh of relief that it’s not related to the back issues that kept him out for the better part of two seasons between 2021 and 2023.
Couturier has been among the Flyers’ best players so far, and the 31-year-old looks like he’s barely missed a step despite playing in just 39 of 174 games since the 2021-22 season began. He hasn’t missed any action this year and ranks fourth on the team in scoring, with two goals, six assists and eight points. Averaging 19:32 per game (which leads all Flyers forwards), he’s sporting a 51% win rate on draws and boasts a Corsi share of 54.7% at even strength.
Notably, Couturier’s injury leaves the Flyers without any healthy scratches on the active roster for tonight’s rematch against the Sabres. It’s unclear who will replace Couturier’s spot on the top line between Owen Tippett and Cam Atkinson. Shutdown center Noah Cates, who has a goal and three assists in ten contests this year, ranks second among Flyers centers in average ice time with 16:02 and seems like the closest chemistry fit for Couturier’s role. That means Scott Laughton could slide back into a third-line position centering Joel Farabee and Bobby Brink, while Ryan Poehling will re-enter the lineup and center the fourth line after serving as a healthy scratch for the last two games.
Ottawa Senators Fire General Manager Pierre Dorion
The Ottawa Senators have relieved general manager Pierre Dorion of his duties. The announcement was made on Wednesday afternoon, just hours after it was announced that the team would lose a First Round pick for their mishandling of Evegnii Dadonov‘s trade away from the club.
This was the last straw for Ottawa, says Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, as the club has faced a string of bad news and scandals to start the season. Only last week it was announced that Shane Pinto would face a 41-game suspension for going against the NHL’s betting policy. This comes after a laborious contract negotiation with the restricted free agent that carried into the regular season.
Ottawa is off to a fine enough start to the season, despite the off-ice theatrics, with a 4-4-0 record through their first eight games and the seventh-most goals in the NHL. They’re being championed, once again, by the powerful duo of Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk – the former leading the team in assists (8) and the latter leading them in goals (6). The two have spent 123 minutes of ice time together and have been on the ice for 12 of Ottawa’s 32 goals so far this season. Their even-strength line is rounded out by Claude Giroux, who has nine points of his own through the team’s eight games.
Dorion was also the man to bring in free agent Vladimir Tarasenko, whose brought a defiant punch to the team’s second line, with three goals and nine points. With Dorion now out of the picture, all attention turns towards who the Senators may entertain as his replacement. New team owner Michael Andlauer announced that Dorion has stepped down and Steve Staios will take over general managing duties in the interim at a press conference on Wednesday.
Ottawa Senators To Forfeit First-Round Pick
The NHL has announced that the Ottawa Senators will forfeit a first-round draft pick for their role in the July 2021 trade of Evgenii Dadonov from the Senators to the Vegas Golden Knights and the subsequent, invalidated March 2022 Dadonov trade between the Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks.
According to the league’s announcement, the Senators will have 24 hours after the conclusion of the NHL Draft lottery to determine if they will surrender their first-round pick in that given year, and they will be able to choose between giving up a pick in either the 2024, 2025, or 2026 drafts.
The Vegas Golden Knights issued a statement regarding the Senators’ punishment, stating:
We appreciate the league’s diligence on this matter and respect the decision. The club will have no further comment.
This issue originates from 2021, when the Golden Knights acquired Dadonov from Ottawa. No official statement regarding how exactly the Senators mishandled that trade has been released, but The Athletic’s Jesse Granger writes on X that the issue relates to the Senators’ handling of the no-trade list in Dadonov’s contract. 
While the league did not elaborate on any specifics as to what the Senators did that merited such a punishment, the fact that a first-round pick has been docked sends a signal that the league deemed serious punishment in order for the Senators.
Per the league’s statement, the NHL nor any of the involved clubs will comment further on this matter, meaning no official explanation of the reasons for this punishment will come.
Thankfully, reporting from Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch sheds some light on the situation. Garrioch reported that today’s punishment has come “as a result of general manager Pierre Dorion giving the Knights the wrong information about the existence of Dadonov’s 10-team ‘no move’ clause.”
The Golden Knights, seemingly believing that Dadonov did not possess no-trade protection, attempted to trade the player to the Anaheim Ducks in a move that was eventually vetoed by the league.
Garrioch added: “The Knights were under the impression that Dadonov hadn’t entered a 10-team no-trade list before the 2021-22 campaign so he no longer had one.”
This appears to have been an issue for Golden Knights management, as Garrioch cites a source who said: “Vegas president of hockey operations George McPhee and GM Kelly McCrimmon refused to let this matter go and appealed to the NHL’s head office to look into it,” a move that resulted in today’s punishment.
Garrioch also laid out the Senators’ argument in defense of their actions, stating that at the time of the trade, the Senators “argued that Vegas had the contract on its books for eight months” and had not looked “at the details” of the contract. While it’s true that the Golden Knights had employed Dadonov for quite a bit of time before the trade, it seems this argument was not sufficient to stave off punishment from the league.
This reported chain of events has not been officially confirmed, and the league’s statement today makes clear that no official confirmation is set to come. But regardless of what exactly happened in Ottawa to merit this kind of punishment, the reality the Senators now face is that they have lost a key asset for their future.
Their right to choose which draft pick they surrender does offer them some crucial flexibility in the matter, especially if the team misses the playoffs this season and ends up in the draft lottery. Just a few years after the Senators had to watch the Colorado Avalanche draft Bowen Byram fourth-overall with a draft pick that once belonged to them, the Senators will not want a repeat of that situation.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nicklas Bäckström To Take Leave Of Absence
Washington Capitals center Nicklas Bäckström has decided to step away from the team as he deals with a lingering injury situation, the Capitals announced today.
Bäckström issued a statement on his decision, which reads as follows:
Given my ongoing injury situation, I decided to take some time and step away from the game. This is a difficult decision, but one that I feel is right for my health at this time. I want to thank my teammates, the organization, and fans for their unwavering support throughout this process. I ask for privacy at this time as I determine my next steps and viable options moving forward.
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan issued a statement of his own, which reads:
We stand behind Nicklas and will support him throughout this process. We know firsthand how hard he has worked and how determined he is to get back to full health. Our organization stands fully behind him while he takes his leave of absence from the team and takes time to evaluate his current health situation.
Bäckström, 35, had hip resurfacing surgery in June 2022, and it was initially believed that the process could cost him the entirety of the 2022-23 season. That didn’t end up happening, though, as Bäckström managed to return to the Capitals’ lineup and skate in 39 games.
To start this season, there was some belief that the hardest phase of Bäckström’s injury-related troubles was behind him, at least based on the fact that he played so many games in 2022-23. The hope was that he would be able to be a full contributor to the Capitals’ efforts to return to the postseason.
But after eight difficult games in which he managed one assist, Bäckström has made the decision to prioritize his long-term health. That’s a reasonable decision for any player dealing with considerable injury issues, let alone a player who has accomplished as much as Bäckström. 
Bäckström has played over 1,100 games in the NHL, and is Washington’s all-time leader in assists.
For years the partner-in-crime to franchise face Alex Ovechkin, Bäckström is a former All-Star, Selke Trophy vote-getter, and a Stanley Cup champion.
As to where Bäckström’s decision leaves the Capitals, rookie head coach Spencer Carbery likely won’t be able to replace what Bäckström brings both on and off the ice.
That being said, he does have some options to help fill the void now created in their depth chart.
Rookie Hendrix Lapierre, the 22nd overall pick at the 2020 NHL draft, is still finding his footing in pro hockey but offers considerable offensive skill. Assuming Sonny Milano can return to the lineup, that return could shift Connor McMichael back to the center position and place him in Bäckström’s vacated third-line center role.
This unfortunate news does pose one minor silver lining for the Capitals, related to their salary-cap situation. CapFriendly writes that the Capitals are likely to place Bäckström on long-term injured reserve, adding the player’s $9.2MM cap hit to their LTIR salary pool. The result is an increased cap flexibility to not only add players from other teams via trade but also activate currently injured players such as Max Pacioretty or Joel Edmundson.
In any case, this is undoubtedly a difficult development for both the player and team side of the equation. For Bäckström, one cannot underestimate how hard it must be for the veteran pivot to step away from his teammates in order to prioritize his health. For the Capitals, despite the player’s struggles to start the season, Bäckström remains a crucial part of the franchise’s efforts to return to the playoffs.
This is an unfortunate situation for all involved, but regardless of the on-ice implications of this decision the hope has to be that, by stepping away from the game, Bäckström can achieve the improvements to his health that he both desires and deserves.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Paul Stastny Announces Retirement
Free agent forward Paul Stastny has confirmed his retirement from the NHL after a 17-season, 1,145-game career in an interview Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic published Tuesday.
The 37-year-old was a key two-way center for most of his career. Drafted in the second round by Colorado back in 2005, Stastny went on to play in eight seasons with the Avs where he made an immediate impact offensively, averaging nearly a point per game in his rookie season, finishing second in Calder Trophy voting. By the time his tenure with Colorado wrapped up, he was more of a defensive threat than an offensive one but that didn’t stop him from having a long career.
Stastny signed with St. Louis in time for the 2014-15 season where he spent parts of four seasons before being traded to Winnipeg as a rental at the trade deadline in 2018. After a two-year stop in Vegas in 2018-19 and 2019-20, he went back to Winnipeg for two more seasons before joining Carolina last season where he was down to 22 points in 73 games while playing exclusively in their bottom six.
Stastny acknowledged to LeBrun that there was some interest in him during the summer but he decided he wanted to wait it out for a bit to see how he felt. Then, as time progressed, he felt that retirement was the right choice for him. It wasn’t his intention to make his decision public, telling LeBrun that “I kind of came into the league quietly and I’m leaving the league quietly. That’s the way I like it.” He hasn’t ruled out returning to hockey in some sort of front office capacity down the road but that’s not on the immediate horizon.
Stastny hangs up his skates after 1,195 career NHL games where he had 293 goals and 529 assists. His 822 points put him in 20th place among U.S.-born players in league history.
Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Suspended Four Games
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been suspended four games for an illegal check to the head against Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in Monday night’s overtime win, the NHL Department of Player Safety said today. McAvoy faced a phone hearing earlier today.
This is the third suspension of the 2023-24 regular season and the fourth to stretch into the regular season. Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson is just now gearing up to return from a four-game suspension for charging (and injuring) Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine, while Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev served a four-game suspension split evenly between the preseason and regular season earlier this month. Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton was also assessed a two-game penalty.
In a video explanation for the suspension, NHL DoPS gave the following explanation for the suspension:
It is important to note that both elements of the Illegal Check to the Head rule are satisfied on this play. First, the head is the main point of contact, as McAvoy makes direct, forceful contact with Ekman-Larsson’s head, and it is the head that absorbs the majority of the force of the check. Second, the head contact on this play is avoidable. McAvoy chooses an angle of approach that cuts across the front of Ekman-Larsson’s body, missing his core and picking his head. If McAvoy wants to deliver this hit, he must stay low and choose an angle that hits through Ekman-Larsson’s shoulder and core, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact.
McAvoy was assessed a match penalty on the play, which occurred with over ten minutes remaining in regulation and just a few minutes after McAvoy had scored the game-tying goal, by on-ice officials. While not a late hit by league standards, Ekman-Larsson did not have possession of the puck when the collision occurred, and McAvoy’s shoulder area contacted Ekman-Larsson’s face and jaw, swinging his head to the side with force. Ekman-Larsson did not return to the game.
McAvoy’s history with DoPS influenced the length of the suspension. He missed a game during the Bruins’ run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final due to a suspension, also for an illegal check to the head.
This now means the Bruins will be without their top defense pair for the next couple of games, at least. Matt Grzelcyk left the Florida game due to an upper-body injury and is expected to miss a handful of games. That means a recall is likely for top defense prospect Mason Lohrei, who would make his NHL debut at home against the Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Flames Have Paused Contract Talks With Pending UFAs
The vibes were good in Calgary. A tumultuous 2022-23 season had seemingly been cleansed from the organization with the appointments of Craig Conroy in the GM’s chair and Ryan Huska behind the bench. Players were buying in, too – with Mikael Backlund signing a three-year extension in accordance with the captaincy and extension talks kicking off with top-pairing defenseman Noah Hanifin, who said last summer he wasn’t willing to consider remaining with the Flames.
Then the season started, and Sportnet’s Eric Francis is now reporting the Flames have paused all extension talks with their 2024 class of UFAs, which includes Hanifin and first-line center Elias Lindholm. A 2-6-1 start has the Flames seventh in the Pacific Division and 15th in the Western Conference, only ahead of the lowly San Jose Sharks. They’ve allowed more goals in the same amount of games than the defensively-challenged Blackhawks – and even that’s with netminder Jacob Markström rebounding, albeit slightly, from last season’s poor form. Daniel Vladar has been limited to just two starts thanks to a sieve-like .842 SV% and 4.51 GAA, however.
What’s worse is that two familiar refrains from last season have come back to haunt them. The team is controlling possession well, holding 53.9% of Corsi events at five-on-five and over half of all scoring and high-danger chances, but it hasn’t mattered. Star players are again underperforming, with many downright snakebitten.
In the second season of a seven-year, $49MM deal, Nazem Kadri has just two points through nine games and a -11 rating. 2021-22 NHL assists leader Jonathan Huberdeau, in the second season of an eight-year, $84MM deal, is barely averaging over 17 minutes per game and has two goals and three assists through nine games. Perhaps the only one of their recent big-time acquisitions is performing up to par – defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, who may have just three points but is controlling possession better than almost anyone on the team with a 57.5% Corsi share at even strength.
Lindholm is also one of the few doing his part, tying for the team lead in scoring with six points and averaging over 21 minutes a game, although he hasn’t been worth the rumored $9MM AAV price tag that’s been bandied about in the past few weeks. Things aren’t going well for the Flames’ other notable pending UFAs, both defensemen – Chris Tanev has been held off the scoresheet through nine contests and has a -6 rating, while Nikita Zadorov is projected to sit as a healthy scratch for Wednesday’s game against the Stars.
If the Flames don’t find themselves close to the playoff picture by the March 8, 2024, trade deadline, they could become one of the biggest players near deadline day in recent memory. All four of Lindholm, Hanifin, Tanev, and Zadorov have the pedigree to fetch anywhere between decent and extravagant returns, even if one or all is still having a down season by the time February rolls around and trade discussions begin in earnest. With another strong slate of prospects expected to be available in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft, the Flames would do well to help retool their franchise on the fly with a few high-end prospects injected into their system.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Joe Thornton Officially Announces Retirement
2006 Hart Trophy winner and longtime San Jose Sharks pivot Joe Thornton has officially confirmed his retirement from pro hockey, per a video release from the Sharks. The 44-year-old did not play during the 2022-23 season, last suiting up for the Florida Panthers in 2021-22.
Rarely does a player with such a clear path to a spot in the Hall of Fame hang up the skates. While he only won two major trophies (the Hart and the Art Ross in 2006) and never lifted a Stanley Cup, the 1997 first-overall pick is widely regarded as one of the best playmakers in NHL history, and for good reason.
Entering the 1997 NHL Draft, Thornton was the clear choice at first overall for the Boston Bruins, who had finished last in the NHL with a 26-47-9 record the year before. “Jumbo Joe” was coming off an electric season with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, notching 41 goals and 81 assists for 122 points in just 59 games. His transition to pro hockey was far from smooth, however. In 1997-98, his NHL rookie season, Thornton averaged just 8:05 per game under head coach Pat Burns and scored just seven points in 55 games. It didn’t look like Thornton would develop into the elite and durable playmaker he ended up being.
Thornton’s point totals would increase over the coming seasons until his true arrival in 2000-01 when he posted a career-high 37 goals and added 34 assists for 71 points in 72 contests. He would hover around (and usually above) the point-per-game mark over the next 15-plus years. Named the Bruins’ captain in 2002-23, succeeding Jason Allison, Thornton’s playmaking immediately exploded. He had 65 assists that year and cracked the 100-point plateau for the first time, although the Bruins struggled defensively and would succumb to the New Jersey Devils in that year’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
Unlike others, Thornton would not lose an entire season to the 2004-05 NHL lockout. At 25 years old, Thornton took his talents overseas for a campaign with HC Davos in the Swiss National League, scoring 54 points (44 of them assists) in 40 games. That would start a relationship between Thornton and Davos that still exists today, as he returned to play for Davos during the 2012-13 lockout and briefly during the 2020-21 campaign and has served with them in guest coaching capacities over the past couple of years.
Returning to NHL action in 2005-06, the 26-year-old Thornton had an incredible start to the season, posting over an assist per game in 23 contests with the Bruins. It wasn’t enough to buoy a defensively weak squad, however, and the team was well below the .500 mark on November 30, 2005 – the date Boston traded Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for a three-player haul of German scoring winger Marco Sturm, top-four defender Brad Stuart, and checking center Wayne Primeau. Thornton would continue his heroics in a Sharks jersey, posting 20 goals and an astounding 72 assists for 92 points in 58 contests post-trade, boosting right winger Jonathan Cheechoo to one of the most unlikely NHL goal-scoring titles in league history. Cheechoo, 25 at the time, had 56 goals in 82 games. He would be out of the NHL entirely by the team he turned 30.
On the whole, Thornton had 96 assists and 125 points in 81 games in 2005-06. He would again crack the 90-assist plateau in 2006-07, finishing the year with 114 points. He would remain over a point per game for the next three seasons as league-wide scoring slowly dwindled, and a Sharks team with increasing depth allowed them to reduce Thornton’s minutes ever so slightly. The Sharks would name him captain ahead of the 2010-11 season, although an incredible core that included Thornton and NHL all-time games played leader Patrick Marleau could never quite get the Sharks to a championship.
That almost changed in 2016, when Thornton, now 36, hit the point-per-game mark for the first time in six years and dominated possession, finishing top-five in both Hart Trophy and Selke Trophy voting. With an elite core that boasted Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Édouard Vlasic in their primes, the Sharks finally advanced to a Stanley Cup Final but were defeated in six games by Sidney Crosby, rookie netminder Matt Murray, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks would get close to a Cup one more time during Thornton’s tenure in 2019 but lost in the Western Conference Final to the eventual champion St. Louis Blues.
After signing three consecutive one-year deals to remain a Shark, Thornton left the team in 2020 to chase a championship with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. His best days now far behind him at age 41, Thornton still managed to add some depth production with 20 points in 44 contests, but he had just one goal in seven playoff games as Toronto was upset by the rival Montreal Canadiens in the First Round. He would sign another one-year contract for 2021-22, this time with the Panthers, but played an increasingly limited role. He suited up in just 34 of 82 games, averaged a hair over 11 minutes per game, and posted ten points. After Florida was eliminated in the Second Round by the Tampa Bay Lightning, it became clear Thornton had likely played his last NHL game.
It’s hard to imagine Thornton not getting the call to the Hall when he’s eligible for induction in 2025. The Ontario product finished his NHL career with 1,714 games played (sixth all-time), 1,109 assists (seventh all-time), and 1,539 points (12th all-time), easily putting him in the conversation for one of the 30 or 40 greatest skaters to ever touch NHL ice.
PHR wishes Thornton the absolute best in whatever awaits him in the next stage of his hockey career.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Tomáš Plekanec Announces Retirement
1001-game NHL veteran Tomáš Plekanec has announced his retirement from the game, via Czech journalist Matěj Hejda. Citing health issues as the reason for his decision, Plekanec ends his playing career several years removed from his last NHL game, after three full, highly productive seasons playing in the Czech Extraliga.
A third-round pick of the Canadiens at the 2001 NHL draft, the versatile center would become one of the faces of the Canadiens franchise in the team’s post-lockout era. After back-to-back AHL All-Star campaigns, Plekanec broke into the league at the age of 23, scoring 29 points in 67 games.
Early in his career, Plekanec was defined by how quickly he climbed the Canadiens’ depth chart.
In his age-24 season, Plekanec scored 20 goals and 47 points, beginning to establish himself as a true top-six center in the NHL.
In his age-25 season, Plekanec had soared to 29 goals and 69 points, a performance that helped the Canadiens to the second round of the playoffs and earned him a third-place Selke Trophy vote.
In 2009-10, Plekanec had the best season of his career, scoring 25 goals and 70 points. He was the top scorer on an underdog Canadiens team that took out two heavyweight Eastern Conference contenders en route to the Conference Finals, helping the Canadiens on their deepest playoff run since their 1993 Stanley Cup championship.
That playoff run marked the beginning of a competitive era for the Canadiens that included three division titles and another run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
By 2017-18, the Canadiens’ decline had mirrored Plekanec’s fading on-ice value, and near the end of that season the Canadiens made the shocking move of trading their beloved two-way center to their arch-nemesis Toronto Maple Leafs.
Plekanec spent a short period of the following campaign with the Canadiens, a move that allowed him to play his 1,000th NHL game with the team before departing for Czechia. This season has been Plekanec’s third as captain of Rytíři Kladno, a team he has also led in scoring during that span.
Beyond just his consistently strong NHL career as a member of the Canadiens, Plekanec also had a highly respectable international career.
He represented Czechia at two World Junior Championships, eleven IIHF Men’s World Championships, and two Winter Olympics.
A valuable leader, Plekanec had the honor of captaining Czechia on multiple occasions, including at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Although a gold medal eluded him as team captain, he won the gold at the 2001 World Juniors and also took home two bronze medals and a silver at the World Championships.
Although it’s unfortunate that health issues have ended Plekanec’s career before he might have wanted to hang up his skates, he nonetheless ends his professional career with so much to be proud of.
He wasn’t the flashiest player, but he was a consistent two-way force. Sporting his signature turtleneck, Plekanec was one of the faces of the most competitive era of hockey in recent Montreal Canadiens history. We at PHR would like to extend our best wishes to Plekanec and his family as he begins his retirement.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Shane Pinto Suspended 41 Games For Violating NHL’s Sports Wagering Rules
11:35 a.m.: The NHL has officially announced Pinto’s suspension. The Senators issued a statement on the matter, including in it a statement from Pinto himself which reads:
I want to apologize to the National Hockey League, the Ottawa Senators, my teammates, the fans and city of Ottawa and most importantly my family. I take full responsibility for my actions and look forward to getting back on the ice with my team.
10:43 a.m.: Contrary to expectation, Pinto’s 41-game suspension has been applied retroactively to the Senators’ first game of the season, Friedman reports. That means the clock has already begun on his 41-game absence, and he does not need to sign a contract with Ottawa to begin serving the suspension. That means he will be eligible to return for Ottawa’s 42nd game of the season, a January 21 contest against the Flyers – assuming he’s signed to a contract by then. Coincidentally, Pinto will be eligible to play this season even if he does not sign a contract before the normal December 1 signing deadline for RFAs, says Friedman.
10:12 a.m.: According to reports from TSN’s Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun, Ottawa Senators restricted free agent center Shane Pinto is set to be suspended by the NHL “for activities related to sports wagering.” The suspension could be up to 41 games in length, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman later confirmed the 41-game penalty.
The clock on a suspension cannot start until Pinto is under contract and on the active roster. Garrioch adds that because of the looming suspension, the Senators have ended contract negotiations and “rescinded all previous offers.” That means Pinto will have to sign his qualifying offer – a one-year, $874,125 deal – to begin serving the suspension.
Friedman reports the league has not accused Pinto of wagering on NHL games but that a March 2022 memo from the league states that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is authorized to:
Discipline individuals determined to have engaged in improper gambling activities in any or all of the following respects: expulsion or suspension [for] a definite or indefinite period; cancelling any contract that such individual may have; and/or by imposing a fine. The League will act swiftly and aggressively in penalizing any League or Club personnel determined to have engaged in acts in violation of the NHL Gambling Policy.
An investigation into Pinto’s behavior began over the summer but did not intensify until the past few weeks when a hearing was held with the league, Friedman says. He also believes that Pinto has not asked for a trade despite the ongoing contract negotiations because “he appreciates the organization’s secrecy about the investigation.”
This is the first online sports gambling-related suspension in NHL history. Typically, players suspended without pay for off-ice conduct are not counted against the salary cap – meaning Pinto’s likely prorated $874,125 cap hit for this season won’t factor in until after the suspension has been served.
Ottawa selected Pinto, 22, with the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he played in all 82 games, far eclipsing his previous career-high of 12, and notched 20 goals and 15 assists for 35 points. Those totals came in some heavy minutes – averaging nearly 16 minutes per game with normal second-line center Joshua Norris missing nearly all of 2022-23 with a shoulder injury. Pinto has also dealt with a significant shoulder injury during his development, which sidelined him for nearly all of 2021-22.
Pinto was expected to play a major depth scoring role on the team this season, anchoring their third line with the help of offseason additions Dominik Kubalík or Vladimir Tarasenko. Yet again, however, the Senators have deviated from expectations early on in the season, failing to get an agreement with Pinto due to cap constraints and now involuntarily being without his services. After losing 6-4 to the division-rival Sabres on Tuesday, the Senators are 3-3-0 through six games and sit sixth in the Atlantic Division.
If Pinto signs his qualifying offer later today before the Senators’ game against the Islanders, the earliest he would be eligible to make his season debut is February 10, 2024, against Toronto. If a qualifying offer signing comes tomorrow, Pinto would need to wait until February 13 against Columbus.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.