Detroit Red Wings Senior VP Fined $250,000 for Comments Made on NHL Lockout

by Ethan Bukowiec on Sat, Sep 22, 2012 at 10:28PM

The NHL may be in a lockout, but that doesn't mean the hits have stopped.

Jim Devellano, senior vice president for the Detroit Red Wings, was fined by the NHL on Saturday for comments that he made in an interview earlier this week.

In an interview with Island Sports News, Devallano shed some light on the lockout and gave his opinion on some of the contracts that were handed out in the offseason.

"It's very complicated and way too much for the average Joe to understand, but having said that, I will tell you this: The owners can basically be viewed as the ranch, and the players, and me included, are the cattle," Devellano said. "The owners own the ranch and allow the players to eat there. That's the way its always been and that's the way it will be forever. And the owners simply aren't going to let a union push them around. It's not going to happen."

NHL officials have been strict with how they want the owners and players to conduct themselves during the lockout, and they did not take kindly to Devallano's comments.

Devellano didn't just criticize NHL owners, though. He also spoke to the issue of players going overseas in wake of the lockout, saying, "like they need the money."

The Red Wings VP isn't making any friends during this extended offseason, and his pocket isn't as full as it was when he woke up Saturday morning.