Suspended Senators centre Shane Pinto can rejoin his teammates

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Shane Pinto will take another step on the road to a return Thursday.

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The suspended Ottawa Senators centre is allowed to resume practising with his teammates now and, since it’s unlikely he’ll make the trip to Buffalo for a 20-minute morning skate before facing the Sabres, the expectation is he’ll skate at the Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.

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That’s if the Senators opt to practice after wrapping up a lengthy 11-day trip Thursday night that started New Year’s Day. With a 4 p.m. visit by the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, we’ll have to see if interim coach Jacques Martin decides his club needs to go on the ice.

Pinto has only five games left to serve in the 41-game suspension he received Oct. 26 for “activities related to sports wagering” by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

The NHL stated in the release that it found no evidence that Pinto bet on hockey, but Bettman wanted to set an example with this suspension because this is the first player to face this type of discipline in decades.

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League sources told Postmedia that Pinto’s online gambling account in the United States was flagged by a company that is a partner of the league because of unusual activity and it contacted the NHL’s head office.

The NHL Players’ Association negotiated this settlement on Pinto’s behalf and there was no appeal by either the union, the Senators or his New York-based agent Lewis Gross.

Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, publicly has stated the 23-year-old Pinto will suit up in Game No. 42 of the season Jan. 21 against the Philadelphia Flyers on the road.

Here’s what lays ahead for Pinto as he prepares to make his return:

SIGNING A DEAL

The Senators need to sign Pinto, a restricted free agent, to a contract before he can suit up. The rules state RFAs can’t sign and play after Dec. 1, but those were waived in this case because of the suspension.

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Pinto can skate with the Senators without a contract.

The expectation is he’ll sign a one-year deal at or close to the $874,125 US qualifying offer the club put in the summer. Staios will still have to juggle the roster to make room for the contract because the Senators have no space under the salary cap.

Due to the cap crunch, the Senators would have to send a player to the club’s AHL affiliate in Belleville or make a trade to fit Pinto on the roster.

It means the Senators may only be able to carry 20 players until the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko’s $5-million salary and Dominik Kubalik’s $2.5-million are likely traded at the March 8 deadline.

Sources say the Senators and Gross have talked about a longer-term deal, but both sides may want to see how his return goes before that kind of commitment is made.

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It’s believed the two sides were close on a two-year deal that would have paid Pinto more than $2 million over each of the next two seasons when word came down that he was under investigation by the league.

The Senators were told by the league it would be best for them to rescind all their offers at that time, but neither side believes getting Pinto’s name on a contract will be an issue.

“He has no leverage and he just needs to get in there,” a league insider told Postmedia on Wednesday. “I don’t think there’s any reason for (Pinto’s camp) to screw around. He’s got another year of restricted free agency, he has arbitration rights this summer and this has been a disaster.”

Pinto had 20 goals and 35 points in 82 games last season. Teams that have called to express interest in making a trade for his rights have been told the Senators aren’t interested in trading him.

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GETTING IN THE GROOVE

Pinto spent at least part of his suspension skating with a college team near his home in Franklin, N.Y., and returned to Ottawa before Christmas to begin working with the club’s development staff.

He has been allowed to skate with the injured players to help him get up to speed, but has been restricted from being on the ice with the rest of his teammates until 10 days before the suspension ends.

At the time of the suspension, the belief was the Senators wanted Pinto to spend some time with Belleville to help him get up to speed. That’s no longer the thinking because the club needs him.

How will he look? That’s the big question.

“There are so many examples going back of guys who hold out or they aren’t in camp or they miss the exhibition season and join a team late,” the insider said. “Now, he’s coming in and he’ll be facing teams that are hunting for a playoff spot.

“The Senators are out of a playoff spot and it can be hard to dial up the compete factor. You can’t just snap your fingers and jump into the grind of the season. We’ve seen this over the years and we know it’s difficult for guys to come in halfway through the season.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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