Ex-NHLer Andre Deveaux suspended until Feb. 2016 in Sweden
Former NHL player Andre Deveaux has been suspended in Sweden until Feb. 15, 2016 after he attacked an opposing player on the ice before a game in March, IIHF.com’s Risto Pakarinen reports.
Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Deveaux, and he was also released from his contract last month.
During warmups before a game, Deveaux charged at an opponent from behind, slashed him in the knees with his stick and tackled him to the ice.
Deveaux's team, Rogle BK, was playing VIK Vasteras HK in a playoff series to determine which team would be promoted to Sweden's top division. No penalty was issued, according to the box score. The incident occurred during the fourth game of the seven-game series, but the video did not surface until after the start of the decisive fifth game, according to Swedish media reports.
Vasteras captain Per Helmersson was the victim of the attack, reportedly as revenge for a hit Helmersson levied on Deveaux in the previous game.
Helmersson was able to play in both games after the attack, but Deveaux's team won and earned promotion.
Deveaux was unapologetic after the video initially surfaced. "How bad was it?" Deveaux said, according to Viasat Hockey. "He played the game and he played today."
"My intent was never to inflict any serious injury and given that I'm a much bigger person than Per Helmersson it is clear that if the damage has been my intention, he had not been able to play the game or the next," Deveaux said in a statement after he was released.
Deveaux, 31, played 31 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers between 2008 and 2011.
- Dan Gartland and Paul Palladino