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Hall of Fame defenceman Paul Coffey reportedly suspended by GTHL following “discriminatory slur”

Cam Charron

Well here's a mystery that needs solving: What was it that Hall of Fame defenceman Paul Coffey said to the coach of the Mississauga Senators that warranted a three-game suspension from coaching his own son's Greater Toronto Hockey League team?

The Hockey News was the first outlet to break this story. It seems that Coffey was found guilty of a new Hockey Canada rule protecting players, coaches and officials from "discriminatory slurs." Coffey coaches the midget 'AAA' Toronto Marlboros, and, per THN.com, was assessed a gross misconduct penalty for "a discriminatory slur" last Friday:

Coffey, according to the game sheet, was originally assessed a gross misconduct penalty for a discriminatory slur, which carries with it an indefinite suspension. After an investigation by the GTHL, Coffey was handed a three-game suspension. Coffey was not behind the bench for his team Tuesday night, which was the fourth game of his team’s league semifinal playoff series. (The series is tied 4-4 in points, with the first team to eight winning the series.)

GTHL executive director Scott Oakman would not even confirm that Coffey was suspended, saying only the Marlies had been informed of the league’s decision. Oakman said the GTHL does not make public its suspensions and saw no reason to deviate from that policy in this case.

For their part, neither the Marlies nor Coffey was willing to comment. But thn.com has learned an official from the opposing Senators team lobbied the GTHL to be lenient on Coffey, saying the situation was being blown out of proportion.

This doesn't seem like a case where hiding details of the incident is really going to help Coffey. "A discriminatory slur" can mean one of several things, but THN makes it sound like whatever was said was directed at the opposing bench.

Zero tolerance means zero tolerance, and whatever was said may be fine by the Jr. Canadiens but not according to the letter or spirit of the rule. Nothing has been confirmed by the Marlies and game sheets for GTHL playoff games don't seem to exist online at the league's website.