Tocchet dodges NHL betting scandal
Source: Toronto Star ()
You’d have to say Gary Bettman got this one about right. Had the commish been in the mood, he could have been tougher on Rick Tocchet.
Why? Well, while Tocchet was on "leave" from the NHL and a target of a criminal investigation into a New Jersey gambling ring, he promised not to have contact with any NHL club or league personnel.
But he went ahead and did so anyway.
Tocchet, a "good guy" to a lot of hockey people, also knew he was in serious trouble for his gambling activities. But with his hockey future on the line, he refused – "almost unbelievably," according to Bettman – to stop gambling.
Tocchet brazenly entered the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas while waiting for a verdict on his legal case. Thumbed his nose at the world. Were Bettman the vindictive sort, he’d have looked at all that, imagined having a convicted felon back in the league as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes might be bad for business and booted Tocchet out for good.
So Tocchet should today be counting himself lucky after Bettman reinstated him effective Feb. 7, two years after he was placed on leave. He got a decent roll of the dice on this one.
Tocchet probably doesn’t feel that way, particularly since the terms of his reinstatement dictate that he can’t gamble at all in the future. Plus, he’s got to go talk to some folks about just maybe having a gambling addiction.
Talk about ruining the fun.
Wayne Gretzky, who could dearly use Tocchet’s company behind the bench of the youthful Coyotes right away, probably doesn’t feel his assistant got off lightly and the same goes for all those players and ex-players who have been more than willing to excuse Tocchet’s involvement in "Operation Slapshot." To them, Bettman and those who actually believe Tocchet did something to the game are being, well, puritanical, not to mention unrealistic about modern realities.
Maybe so and certainly …