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NHL has ‘no reason to believe...the Canadiens acted inappropriately’ in Tinordi trade

Jarred Tinordi

during the NHL game at Gila River Arena on February 15, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona.

Christian Petersen

According to deputy commissioner Bill Daly, the NHL “has been given no basis whatsoever to consider reversing or revisiting” the trade that sent defenseman Jarred Tinordi from Montreal to Arizona in January.

In the process, Daly cleared the Canadiens of any underhandedness in the transaction.

“While we are not permitted under the terms of the CBA to provide any further detail or timeline with respect to Mr. Tinordi’s suspension, we would like to state that we have no reason to believe or conclude that the Canadiens acted inappropriately at any time in relation to this matter,” Daly said in a widely released statement.

“NHL clubs are not parties with whom information relating to the drug-testing results or process are shared until a final determination has been made and formally announced by the League and NHLPA, which in this case was yesterday.”

Daly was forced to address the issue after Tinordi was suspended yesterday for 20 games due to a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett then raised eyebrows by saying that the suspension caught the club “by surprise” and that “it was something that’s been going on since before he got to our team.”

Some cryptic post-trade remarks by Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin were also suddenly recalled.

“I have a reason that I can’t really tell you why,” Bergevin said following the deal that was originally controversial due to the inclusion of John Scott, “but if I could, you would probably understand.”

But -- again -- according to Daly, the Canadiens couldn’t have known about Tinordi’s positive test result, because no teams were made aware of it until yesterday.