Senators’ Shane Pinto explains why he didn’t fight gambling ban

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It turns out that a little help from his friends was enough to land Shane Pinto a half-season suspension – and it could’ve actually been worse.

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The Ottawa Senators forward talked openly about his 41-game suspension last season for violating the NHL’s gambling rules during a recent podcast appearance, revealing what action led to his lengthy ban.

“I had my buddies, because I was in Canada, just place bets for me in America,” he said during an appearance on the Empty Netters podcast. “I wasn’t a Canadian citizen so I couldn’t really use a Canadian sportsbook … That’s proxy betting, so that’s obviously a big no-no. It was an illegal act so, obviously, it was a pretty big deal.

“So that’s why we didn’t want to fight (the suspension) and we just kinda accepted it.”

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Last October, the league announced that Pinto, at the time an unsigned restricted free agent, was to be suspended for half of the 2023-24 season – the NHL’s first betting-related suspension involving online wagering sites.

There was no evidence that Pinto bet on NHL games.

He also said that he focused on training during his time off, leaning on family and teammates while also staying away from social media. 

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Ironically, Pinto used a gambling metaphor when describing how he dealt with his league-enforced time on the sidelines.

“I just did my best with the hand I got dealt with,” he said. “Obviously it was a little bit my fault, so I’m not gonna like, (ask for) pity over it. I thought I did a good job of responding from it,” he said.

“I’m glad it’s over, but I learned a lot from it. Thank god it’s all behind me.”

After serving his suspension, Pinto made his debut in January and played the remaining 41 games of the season. He produced nine goals and 27 points for his highest point-per-game rate of his young career at 0.66.

In 140 career NHL games, he has 30 goals and 40 assists.

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