Anaheim Ducks forward Shawn Horcoff was suspend for 20 games by the NHL on Tuesday for violating the NHL/NHLPA’s performance-enhancing substances program.
Horcoff had tried a treatment that he thought would speed up the recovery from an injury he suffered last fall. He didn’t know that the treatment that he was doing wasn’t allowed under NHL rules.
The suspension includes a mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment, under the collective bargaining agreement, according to NHL.com. Horcoff will lose $357,526.88 in salary as a result of the suspension.
"While recovering from an injury I suffered this past fall, I tried a treatment that I believed would help speed up the healing process," Horcoff said in a statement, ESPN notes. "Although I was unaware that this treatment was not permitted under NHL rules, that is no excuse whatsoever. I should have done my research and I should have checked with the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program's doctors. I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I am sorry. Throughout my entire career, I have felt genuinely blessed and honored to the play the great game of hockey, and I regret the impact that this may have on my team and our fans. I look forward to the day I return to the ice for the playoff push."
Ducks general manager Bob Murray said in a statement that the team will support Horcoff.
Horcoff played for the Edmonton Oilers for 12 years and spent the last two years with the Dallas Stars. The Ducks signed him to a one-year, $1.75 million deal in the offseason.
Horcoff has six goals and four assists this season, according to the Associated Press. The Ducks are 21-18 and are in fifth place in the Pacific division.