Shane Pinto rejoins Senators as 41-game gambling suspension nears end
Unsigned forward eligible to return to game action Jan. 21 vs. Flyers
Friday was a day of firsts for Shane Pinto.
The Ottawa Senators centre practised with the team and addressed media for the first time since receiving a 41-game suspension from the NHL for "activities relating to sports wagering" on Oct. 26. The 23-year-old will be eligible to return Jan. 21 when the Senators face Philadelphia.
"It's awesome, it's special," he told reporters in Ottawa. "You kind of take it for granted, being around the team and how much the boys mean to you.
"It's just good to be back, I don't want to get too emotional but it's awesome. It's been a long road for me and I'm just happy to be back around the fellas."
“A lot of maturing went on during those last couple months too. I grew up a lot off the ice and that’s just going to help me on the ice.”<br><br>Hear from Shane Pinto as he addressed the Ottawa media 🗣️ <a href="https://t.co/c3wk5HhDR2">pic.twitter.com/c3wk5HhDR2</a>
—@SenatorsPinto had already been dealing with a drawn-out contract situation before the suspension.
He's still a restricted free agent and was unable to work out an extension with the Senators in the off-season. Pinto was coming off a 20-goal, 15-assist campaign in his first full season — his third overall — in 2022-23.
Pinto refused to get into detail on what caused the suspension, but he said it caught him by surprise.
"A little bit," he said. "I don't want to get too much into detail about it but definitely was caught off guard a bit. It just kind of came out of nowhere and went from there."
"It broke my heart, honestly," he added. "I care about this game so much, I put so much time and effort into it and to get it taken away from you for that long — it's just tough to hear. You're kind of at shock at first and you just lean on the people to get you through it."
'It's just part of it now'
Pinto said he's had conversations with other players to learn from his situation.
"It's just part of it now, I think," he said of gambling in sports. "You see it on the commercials now, it's pretty evident.
"But that's no excuse. I've got to be more cautious, just more mature in what I'm doing. I got to realize the position I'm in. There's always going to be a microscope on professional athletes. Like I said, I took that for granted and I've got to be better with it."
"Being more persistent at playing the game that we played in the third period last night. We need to have that emotion and engagement that's required to be successful."<br><br>Jacques Martin on the team building each game <a href="https://t.co/UDeD8LJ4aX">pic.twitter.com/UDeD8LJ4aX</a>
—@SenatorsPinto said he had support from the team and spent much of his "extended off-season" at home, where he was able to be around family and friends. He returned to Ottawa three weeks ago but said he has been skating throughout the time off.
The Senators, meanwhile, have gone 14-23-0 and sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Pinto said he found it tough to watch the games, especially early on and said he felt "helpless."
However, he doesn't feel as though he's a far away from being in mid-season form.
"I think just a little bit of the timing might be different but I've been skating a lot. I've been skating everyday, really ramping up," he said.
"I think my conditioning will be there, maybe some little things, like my puck touches and timing. I think it'll take one or two games and I'll be hopefully back and contributing."
