BUFFALO, N.Y. — NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly acknowledged Saturday that multiple complaints have been lodged against the Vancouver Canucks for tampering, stemming from comments made by GM Jim Benning this week.
No matter the intrigue or interest level, team management personnel are not permitted to speak publicly about players under contract with another NHL team.
Benning said on TSN 1040 Vancouver on Thursday he called the Canadiens to discuss acquiring P.K. Subban and planned to phone the agents for Steven Stamkos on Saturday once the free agent courting period opened. His comments were honest, not speculative or with any slant.
But they run counter to NHL Bylaw 15 on tampering.
"I've had a discussion both with Jim and with Trevor Linden," Daly said. "They understand where we are on this situation. We talked about announcing something early next week."
A violation would make Benning's wallet lighter at a minimum, while an infraction deemed to be more severe could cost Vancouver draft picks.
Benning's punishment, if any in this case, would likely be in the form of a fine.
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson was slapped with an undisclosed fine - reported as $25,000 - in 2009 for saying on radio "I would think that we would be going after the Sedins" in free agency.
"We've had a couple of instances where team people have spoken out of school," Daly said. "I'm not sure if we've announced the penalties associated with them. There's a lot of different factors involved in something like that. You have to see if there was damage done by the comments. Typically, if it's perceived as more of a violation than any damage done, it might be less. Really depends on the circumstances."
Benning's comments about Stamkos, in particular, are tricky because he is a pending unrestricted free agent and the interview period was just two days away.
Either way, the spectre of a fine grabbed the attention of the rest of the league's general managers. They're watching their words. Flames GM Brad Treliving recoiled when asked Friday night whether he spoke to the Lightning about goaltender Ben Bishop.
"I don't talk about other team's players," Treliving shot back.
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