Islanders players seek clarity on NHL gambling rules in wake of LI native Shane Pinto's suspension
Shane Pinto #57 of the Ottawa Senators skates with the puck during the NHL game at Mullett Arena on January 12, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. Credit: Getty Images
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the wake of the 41-game ban the NHL handed Franklin Square’s Shane Pinto of Ottawa on Thursday for activities related to sports wagering — the league’s first such suspension in the era of online gambling — players are looking for clarification of the rules.
“I’m not sure on the full specifics of what transpired with him and/or the rules,” Brock Nelson said before the Islanders’ 2-0 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday at Nationwide Arena. “The accessibility of gambling and the legalization has made it a little tougher to navigate.”
New NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh and Jared Maples, the league’s senior executive vice president and chief security officer, will address the topic as they visit teams during the season.
Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said each team received a memo on the issue before the season.
“It’s a [Players’ Association] thing and it’s a Lou thing and I’ll leave it at that,” said Islanders coach Lane Lambert, citing team president/general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Nelson said the players have been in communication with the NHLPA after the NHL suspended Pinto, 22.
“Guys are curious,” Nelson said. “The PA is trying to alert guys as well, to let everyone know maybe what happened, or bits of it.”
New York rivalry
Islanders players know how special playing another New York team can be. Which is why Sunday’s Jets-Giants game is intriguing to them.
“You probably wish that they could have more games against each other,” said Anders Lee, a standout high school football player in Minnesota.
“I know how that area, that parking lot, gets for a big football games, and I’m sure it will be an awesome atmosphere,” Smithtown’s Kyle Palmieri said.
Isles files
Retired goalie Cory Schneider worked his first Islanders game as a pregame and intermission analyst for MSG Networks . . . Defenseman Scott Mayfield (lower body) missed his sixth game . . . Forwards Hudson Fasching and Julien Gauthier remained healthy scratches . . . Defenseman Noah Dobson had his career-high point streak snapped at five games . . . Right wing Mathew Barzal also had a five-game point streak snapped as well as a nine-game point streak against the Blue Jackets . . . Nelson took a game-high eight shots . . . Pierre Engvall took one shot in 14:07 with an assist and Lambert called it the left wing’s best game of the season.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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