The NHL is suspending Senators center Shane Pinto 41 games for activities related to sports betting, the league announced on Thursday morning. Pinto becomes the first NHL player to be suspended in connection with sports gambling since the 1940s.
“The League’s investigation found no evidence that Pinto made any wagers on NHL games,” the league said in a statement. “The NHL considers this matter closed, absent the emergence of new information, and will have no further comment.”
The league began to investigate Pinto over the summer, and the investigation picked up over the past few weeks, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Ottawa selected Pinto in the first round of the 2019 NHL draft, and the 22-year-old is playing in his fourth season with the team. After appearing in just 17 combined games over his first two seasons, Pinto played in all 82 games last year, recording 20 goals and 15 assists for the Senators.
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This season, Pinto has yet to play in a game as he remains an unsigned restricted free agent. He and the team haven’t been able to find common ground on a new contract. Meantime, Pinto hasn’t signed his qualifying offer, and Ottawa hasn’t found a suitable trade partner, either.
Despite Pinto’s unsigned status, his suspension began with Ottawa’s first game of the season, according to Friedman.
