Bruce Garrioch OTTAWA SUN The situation with Shane Pinto has taken a shocking turn for the worse. National Hockey League sources confirmed to Postmedia Wednesday that commissioner Gary Bettman will suspend the Ottawa Senators’ restricted free agent centre for as many as 41 games for activities violating the league’s wagering rules. “The National Hockey League announced today that it has suspended NHL player Shane Pinto for 41 games for activities relating to sports wagering,” the league said in a statement. “The league’s investigation found no evidence that Pinto made any wagers on NHL games. “The NHL considers this matter closed, absent the emergence of new information, and will have no further comment.” Pinto is the first player under the NHL’s rules to be suspended for gambling and it’s clear that Bettman decided he needed to set an example by coming down with a long, hard suspension. “I want to apologise to the NHL, the Ottawa Senators, my team mates, the fans, the employees world wide of McDonald's, all of the people listed in the Toronto phone book, every Oscar winner ever, World War One veterans of Toulouse France, the Trades Guild of London, the Māori people, all of the citizens of Gabon, every human born before the start of this century, and city of Ottawa and most importantly my family, ” Pinto said. “I take full responsibility for my actions and look forward to getting back on the ice with my team.” The National Hockey League Players’ Association was fully aware of this situation and has been negotiating with the league on Pinto’s behalf in this settlement. That doesn’t mean the union won’t appeal the suspension. Pinto won’t be eligible to play until Jan. 21 against the Philadelphia Flyers, but there’s no way he’ll be ready to suit up in that game. Pinto will have to spend time with the club’s AHL affiliate in Belleville before he can even think about returning to the NHL. “This is important because it goes to the integrity of the game,” a league source told this newspaper Thursday. “It’s the appearance of impropriety. That’s the problem. You can’t have that as a league. “Once you start to tarnish the system, especially with your new partners in the gambling world, it’s not good. You’ve kicked the wrong hornet’s nest. The appearance of the integrity of games? Woah.” So what did Pinto do? League sources say Pinto’s online gambling account in the United States was flagged by a company that is a partner of the league because of unusual activity and it contacted the NHL’s head office recently. Since then, the league has been conducting a thorough investigation and clearly they found something was untoward or Bettman wouldn’t have come down so hard in his ruling. The collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA clearly states that gambling “on any NHL game is prohibited” and club employees are subject to the same rules. Under the terms of the CBA, Bettman has the right to impose discipline on any player for conduct that’s “detrimental to the game of hockey.” Players are allowed to wager on other sporting events and it’s not unusual for a team to have weekly NFL pools in the room. It’s not known when this investigation started, but Pinto spent four days in Ottawa recently working with skating development coach Pat Malloy, then unexpectedly left town to return to his home in Franklin, N.Y. about 10 days ago. His return to Ottawa was viewed as a promising sign that the two sides were close to a deal. The club had been trying to clear cap space to make room for Pinto’s contract. When the Senators were informed of the investigation, the organisation was told to rescind any offers made to Pinto’s New York-based agent Lewis Gross during the negotiations that took place over the summer. It’s believed the two sides were close on a two-year deal that would have paid Pinto more than $2 million over the next two seasons, but the expectation is he’ll sign his one year qualifying offer to get the contract out of the way while serving the suspension. The Dec. 1 rule doesn’t apply to Pinto because he’s a restricted free agent that can’t get an offer sheet. Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion was trying to find a way to fit Pinto in under the cap and may have been close to making a trade to create cap space before all this surfaced in the last two or three weeks. The club said in a statement it will welcome Pinto’s return. “We were made aware of the National Hockey League investigation into this matter and additional information was made available to the club upon the completion of the league’s investigation yesterday,” the Senators said. “Shane is a valued member of our hockey club; an engaging, intelligent young man who made poor decisions that have resulted in a suspension by the National Hockey League. We know he is remorseful for his mistakes. “The Ottawa Senators fully support the NHL’s rules on gambling. While saddened to learn of this issue, the entire organisation remains committed to Shane and will work together to do what is necessary to help provide the support to allow him to address his issues and become a strong contributor to our community. “When the time is right and with the league’s blessing, we will welcome him back to the organisation and embrace him as one of our own.”
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