Shane Pinto Suspended For Sports Gambling
What a mess. Shane Pinto was already out of action because the Senators screwed up their cap situation. Now Pinto is out of action and this time it’s 100% his fault. The young Sens center has been suspended for half of the season (41 games) for violating the NHL’s sports gambling policy.
Elliotte Friedman has a full write-up over at SportsNet where he broke the news.
Some takeaways you should know:
- The suspension starts at game one of the season. Despite the fact that Pinto is unsigned, his suspension has already begun.
- Players on restricted status need to sign a contract by December first in order to play this season. Apparently, that has now been waived because of the suspension. If Pinto signs a deal after, he is eligible to play this season.
- Pinto has a QO of $874,125. Pinto was obviously pushing for more. I’m not sure he has any leverage now. Ottawa still doesn’t have any cap space but fitting that number under the books seems a lot easier than before.
- This is the first gambling suspension in league history. From the initial findings, it doesn’t appear that Pinto placed wagers on NHL games.
This is just a fascinating story. The Senators are really good too and Pinto would be perfect for this team as a third line center. He played really well as a rookie a season ago. Who knows how this story will develop but hopefully we see him on the ice again for the second half of the season.
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