NEW YORK (AP) -Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mark Bell was suspended for 15 games without pay Wednesday by the NHL after his plea last month of no contest to drunken driving and hit-and-run charges.
``Playing in the National Hockey League is a privilege, and with that privilege comes a corresponding responsibility for exemplary conduct off the ice as well as on it,'' commissioner Gary Bettman said.
``Yeah I think the length of the suspension was a surprise,'' Bell said at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto after the announcement. ``I haven't been in contact with the league until about 48 hours ago, but I respect the decision the commissioner made and I look forward to moving on in a positive manner - as I have been for the last year.''
Bell is in Stage 2 of the NHL's substance abuse program. He was suspended indefinitely Sept. 4, and the suspension will start once he's cleared to return by the program's doctors. The doctors also will determine what, if any, activities Bell can participate in when Toronto opens training camp Thursday.
``The NHLPA sees no basis for the excessive suspension Gary Bettman has imposed upon Mark Bell,'' said Ian Penny, the NHL Players' Association's associate counsel.
``Mark has fully accepted the serious consequences of his actions. He faces incarceration at the conclusion of the season and has already been suspended without pay as a result of his placement in Stage 2. ... There is no legitimate purpose served by adding a substantial league disciplinary suspension to the severe sanctions that have already been imposed. We are currently reviewing all of our legal options with respect to this matter.''
Bell was arrested in September 2006 after his sedan rear-ended a pickup truck in Milpitas, Calif., in the San Jose foothills.
Bell is expected to serve six months in a California jail, beginning after this season. Santa Clara County prosecutor Cindy Seeley Hendrickson said Bell could complete the sentence over the next two offseasons under the agreement, which has yet to be entered in court.
The Maple Leafs acquired Bell in June along with goalie Vesa Toskala in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.
``I'm going to continue to get in the best shape of my life,'' Bell said. ``I'm not just going to sit around. This is time that I will use to become a better hockey player. I want to show all Maple Leaf fans and the whole league what kind of player that I am.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
