Canucks fined $50K for comments about interest in Stamkos, Subban

The Vancouver Canucks were fined $50,000 by the NHL on Tuesday, after general manager Jim Benning made public comments last week about being interested in acquiring Steven Stamkos and P.K. Subban.

"Canucks general manager Jim Benning violated the provisions of NHL By-Law 15 relating to inappropriate public comments by speaking generally to his club's potential interest in players under contract to other NHL clubs," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.

Benning and the Canucks made headlines before the draft, after Benning said that Vancouver was one of the teams to call the Montreal Canadiens about the availability of Subban.

"It's a high price, he's a true No. 1 defenseman," Benning told the media.

About Stamkos, Benning said No. 91 would have many suitors in free agency, "but we'll talk to him and see where it goes."

Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin was upset with the public nature of Benning's comments, saying his counterpart "crossed the line."

With speculation across the league that a Subban deal was imminent, Bergevin addressed the media after Benning's comments and said that he wasn't shopping Subban, but that he couldn't stop teams from calling about him.

Daly added that he spoke with Benning and that the Vancouver GM meant no harm with his remarks.

"(Benning) will handle similar questions from the media differently in the future," Daly's statement concluded.

Benning released the following statement after the NHL announced the fine:

Last week I was trying to be candid with our fans and media about our efforts to improve our team but said too much about players on other teams. I have spoken personally to the NHL and the general managers involved to apologize and I accept the league's ruling.