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2 Montreal Players Arrested At Bar

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON and JOSH POLTILOVE The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 12, 2008

Updated: 02/11/2008 11:25 pm

TAMPA - Two members of the Montreal Canadiens are expected to be in the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay despite their arrests outside a South Tampa nightclub early Monday.

Montreal rookie defenseman Ryan O'Byrne and veteran forward Tom Kostopoulos were arrested about 3 a.m. outside Whiskey Park, 720 S. Howard Ave.

Police say O'Byrne stole a woman's purse, while Kostopoulos resisted an officer.
Montreal general manager Bob Gainey said he has spoken with both players involved in the incident and will let the legal system run its course, but there are no plans to suspend either player.

"At this point, there is no action being taken by the team," Gainey said. "The situation is under the umbrella of the legal system in Tampa and the players will have to move forward with whatever the ramifications are for their actions or the situation calls for."

Monday's incident started when a woman inside Whiskey Park set her purse on a countertop, a Tampa police report states. She noticed it missing and alerted security officers, who saw O'Byrne outside holding the purse in one hand and the woman's cell phone in another.

O'Byrne told police it was his girlfriend's purse. When an officer "asked what her name was, he could not give a name," the report states.

Police determined the purse belonged to the woman at the bar, who told police she didn't know O'Byrne, according to the report. O'Byrne was detained and placed in the back seat of a police car.

"Several associates, who were identified as National Hockey League players/members, crowded around the officers and police car," the report states. "They were told numerous times to get away from the police car and not to interfere."

O'Byrne was charged with grand theft, and Kostopoulos was charged with resisting an officer without violence. Both players were released from jail after posting bail and participated in team practice Monday afternoon.

"Hopefully this resolves quickly, but it's a legal issue and I can't really say much about it," O'Byrne said after practice. "We had a team meeting and I'm apologetic for what happened and creating a distraction to put the team through this; it's not what I want to do and that's the bottom line."

Said Kostopoulos: "Both of us, Ryan and I, feel bad about what has happened and we want to get it resolved as quickly as possible. We have to try to push this aside and concentrate on getting back to the ice right now."

The incident followed a traditional dinner in hockey in which the rookies pick the tab for the entire team, which can generally run about $10,000 per player. After the dinner, some of the players found their way to the nightclub.

"It's unfortunate, Gainey said. "It was a day planned by the players, a traditional day, for a team gathering that this incident puts a shadow over that otherwise would have left them with a nice day together."

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com.

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