Early this morning at about 3 a.m. outside a Tampa night club, Montreal Canadians’ rookie defenceman Ryan O’Byrne and veteran winger Tom Kostopoulos were arrested.

Police reported that O’Byrne, 23, stole a woman’s purse while Kostopoulos resisted an officer. O’Byrne insisted that the purse was his girlfriends, but police said that it had belonged to another woman.

“Several associates, who were identified as NHL players/members, crowded around the officers and police car,” stated the police report. “They were told numerous times to get away from the police car and to not interfere.”

Charges were laid against Kostopoulos, 29, for resisting an officer without violence and O’Byrne was charged with grand theft. Both players were released on bail.

I wonder how this will affect The Canadians game against the Tampa Bay Lighting tomorrow night.

Hockey News