Button: Portland punishment unfair

by Rob Benneian

They may play their games nearly 4,000 kilometres apart, but the Windsor Spitfires and Portland Winterhawks are now painted with the same tainted brush.

The Spits were handed a record-breaking fine of $400,000 and forfeiture of five draft picks for two separate player recruitment violations in August. The fine was eventually reduced to $250,000 and the loss of four picks. The Western Hockey League’s Winterhawks were dealt a similar hand Nov. 28 when the league hit them with a $200,000 fine and stripped them of nine selections in the next five drafts, including their first five picks in this year’s WHL Bantam Draft. Winterhawks general manager and head coach Mike Johnston was also suspended for the remainder of the season.

Portland successfully lured top NHL prospect Seth Jones, a defenceman from Plano, Texas who was committed to the University of North Dakota. Instead of taking the NCAA route, Jones jumped ship for Oregon and the WHL. Portland said Jones was not one of the players they allegedly violated player benefits to acquire.

“I believe them,” said NHL scout Craig Button. “Seth Jones wanted to go and play in junior hockey. He felt to commit to a college program knowing he wanted to leave after a year wasn’t fair.”

It is expected Jones will be one of the first players to hear his name called at this summer’s NHL Entry Draft and should make the jump to the NHL as an 18 year old.

After conducting an investigation into the Winterhawks, the WHL found them to be guilty of four violations, including:

•       A player contract signed in 2009, involving flights for the player’s family and a summer training program
•       Over the last five years, seven families were provided flights 2-4 times per season based on financial need and their distance from Portland
•       Twice in the last five years the team paid for two players to each have a one-week summer training regimen
•       The Winterhawks provided a cell phone for its team captain for a period of three seasons

“After fully cooperating with the league’s investigation, we were extremely surprised at the excessive nature of the sanctions, and we don’t feel they are in line with the scope of the violations we were found to have committed,” Johnston said in a press release.

Button can be included among those who agree the sanctions against the Winterhawks are unnecessarily harsh.

“I know there are policies in place, but based on the surface of what I see, it does seem like the penalties don’t warrant the violations,” Button said. “To take the first five picks from this year’s bantam draft away from them, their first round picks going forward … the punishment doesn’t seem to fit the crime.”

The Winterhawks are exploring what options are available to them, but considering the Spitfires were successful in having their punishments reduced the next step seems clear.

“It’s like putting somebody in jail for a year for speeding. I’m using an extreme example, but that’s what it seems like to me,” said Button. “Based on what I’ve seen, (the punishment) doesn’t make sense. I’ll be shocked if it isn’t appealed, and I’ll be shocked if it isn’t reduced.”