Canucks Hit with $50,000 Tampering Fine for GM's Comments about Subban, Stamkos

Jim Benning's (public) thirst for P.K. Subban and Steven Stamkos came at a cost.

On Tuesday, the NHL released a statement saying it has fined the Canucks $50,000 for tampering as a result of comments the Vancouver GM recently made. Benning violated By-Law 15 by expressing interest in PK Subban and Steven Stamkos, both of whom are under contracts with other NHL teams. That's a big no-no in the NHL.

"I spoke with Jim and accept his representation that he intended no harm with his comments and that he will handle similar questions from the media differently in the future," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.

The fine comes days after Benning was on radio talking about the Canucks' future, which is when he expressed interest in trading for Subban and signing Stamkos, who is set to officially become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Subban, a constant subject of trade rumours, is signed to a long-term deal with the Canadiens.

Benning released the following statement Thursday:

Benning first admitted that he had talked to the Canadiens about Subban, saying, "I think there's lots of teams who have reached out to him. We are one of the teams who have talked to him," before mentioning that Montreal is asking for a high price in return. Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin wasn't impressed with the comments and filed a complaint to the league that ultimately led to an investigation, and the fine.

Later, Benning was asked if he would be making a call to Stamkos and he responded, "Yes. Yes, we will. We're going to get the draft here… and then we're going to pick up the phone and we're going to call his agent."

Although Benning was trying to be transparent and honest about his intentions, a quality most NHL executives don't have, his comments were nonetheless considered tampering.

Tampering charges are rare in the NHL. The Canucks, oddly enough, were on the other end of one of the most recent ones, when the Leafs were fined $25,000 in 2009 for expressing interest in Vancouver's Daniel and Henrik Sedin.