Shane Pinto Finds Silverlining in 41-Game Gambling Suspension: 'My Body Feels Unreal'

Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto is almost done with his 41-game suspension for violating the NHL's gambling policy.

While that's a bummer, Pinto is clearly an optimist and found an upside to sitting out the first half of the 2023-24 season.

“It was an extended off-season. I took advantage of it for sure. My body feels unreal,” Pinto said.

That's a real "glass half-full" way of looking at it.

“I’ve done a lot of maturing in the last couple of months," he said. "I grew up a lot off the ice and that’s only going to help me on the ice.”

Pinto — the 32nd pick in the 2019 NHL Draft — was unable to use the team's practice facility until January 11. That's ten days before he can make his season debut, which will be on January 21 on the road in Philadelphia at the earliest.

Shane Pinto can return to the Senators lineup later this month after a 41-game suspension. (Photo by André Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

It's Still Unclear What Exactly Pinto Did To Earn A Suspension

Pinto was handed his suspension in late October but had not appeared in any games to that point as he was — and is still — an unsigned restricted free agent.

However, there hasn't been a whole lot of information as to why Pinto was suspended, with one of the only details being that he never bet on NHL games.

He opted not to get into that in his first public comments since the story broke.

"I don't want to get too much into detail about it but definitely I was caught off guard," Pinto said, according to Sportsnet. "It broke my heart, honestly. I care about this game so much and put so much effort and time into it, and to get it taken away from you for that long, it's just tough to hear."

He did, however, mention that players around the league had contacted him about it. They hoped to learn how they could avoid getting into similar trouble. That's good because, in this new age of sports betting, these kinds of rules and expectations need to be laid out in clear, no-uncertain terms to players.

Pinto is back skating with a Senators team that could use any help they can get. They're currently last in the Atlantic Division with only 28 points as of Friday afternoon. He said being back with the boys is a great feeling.

"It's awesome," Pinto said. "It's special. You kind of take it for granted being around the team and how much the boys mean to you. It's good to be back. I don't want to get too emotional about it, but it's awesome."

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