Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto has been suspended 41 games by the NHL for “activities relating to sports wagering,” the league announced Thursday.
The NHL said in a statement it found no evidence Pinto made any bets on its games. The league added it “considers this matter closed, absent the emergence of new information.”
The first modern-day NHLer banned for sports wagering, Pinto is an unsigned restricted free agent yet to play this season because of a contract impasse.
“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,” the 22-year-old said in a statement provided by the club.
“I take full responsibility for my actions and look forward to getting back on the ice with my team.”
Gambling is only mentioned once in the NHL’s 540-page collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players’ Association – “Gambling on any NHL Game is prohibited.”
The document does, however, empower commissioner Gary Bettman to discipline players for off-ice conduct. The NHLPA isn’t expected to appeal Pinto’s ban.
The Senators said in a statement the organization was aware of the NHL’s investigation, and then provided “additional information” following the completion of the process Wednesday.
“Shane is a valued member of our hockey club,” the team’s release read. “An engaging, intelligent young man who made poor decisions.
“We know he is remorseful for his mistakes.”
The Senators added they “fully support the NHL’s rules on gambling.”
“While saddened to learn of this issue, the entire organization 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,” the statement read.
“When the time is right and with the league’s blessing, we will welcome him back to the organization and embrace him as one of our own.”
Selected by Ottawa in the second round of the 2019 draft, Pinto had 20 goals and 35 points in his first full NHL campaign in 2022-23.
The Franklin Square, N.Y., native, who spent two seasons at the University of North Dakota, has 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in 99 career games with the Senators. Pinto missed most of the 2021-22 schedule with a shoulder injury.
The NHL, a number of its franchises and a host of star players – including Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews – have high-profile sponsorship deals with gambling websites. Wayne Gretzky has also appeared in betting ads.
The Senators became the first NHL team to add a gambling-related entity as a helmet sponsor with Bet99 in 2021. Their home helmets now bear the logo of Betway, an international gambling company.
Pinto is viewed as an important piece as the club’s third-line centre. Ottawa, which is 3-3-0 to start the season, was set to visit the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Pinto is the latest professional athlete suspended since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for legalized sports wagering in 2018.
The NFL has banned a handful of players for gambling violations in recent years.
Calvin Ridley, now a receiver with the Jacksonville Jaguars, sat out the entire 2022 season after betting on games while he was away from football at the tail end of the 2021 schedule.
The NHL investigated Evander Kane for gambling two years ago after his estranged wife claimed he bet on NHL games, including ones involving his own team.
The last NHL players suspended for gambling before Pinto were Billy Taylor, Don Gallinger and Babe Pratt back in the 1940s.
David Hodgins, a professor with the University of Calgary’s psychology department and who also works with the Alberta Gambling Research Institute, said his hope is that the league will take a serious approach to assisting those with gambling issues.
“The NHL and other sports teams actually have a long history of providing pretty comprehensive support for substance-use disorders. When somebody gets into misusing substances or a substance-use addiction there are a whole set of resources that are made available to them,” he said.
“My hope is that gambling issues and gambling addiction are sort of seen as something similar and are taken as serious mental-health disorders.”
Senators head coach D.J. Smith told reporters in New York on Thursday that the organization is behind Pinto “100 per cent.”
“We’ll be here for him, we’ll offer him any support that he needs and we’ll welcome him back with absolute open arms,” Smith said. “I know the staff loves him, I know the players love him – the city, the organization. We’ll do everything we can.
“He’s one of ours.”
With a report from The Associated Press.