The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes it might seem, at first blush, to be a clear violation of NHL guidelines.
After all, the league has instructed employees of its teams to avoid communicating with members of the NHL Players’ Association until the lockout that has shut down the league since mid-September is over.
There’s no exemption for people who are blood relatives and who, say, might end up seated across from one another at a Thanksgiving table.
Too bad, because Ryan Malone, the former Penguins left winger who now plays for Tampa Bay, and Greg Malone, who is the Lightning’s head pro scout, would qualify for one.
Now, an NHL official confirmed that the regulations apply only to discussions of “official business,” so Greg Malone isn’t in danger of being fined if he asks his son to, say, pass the mashed potatoes.
Which might be about as close as they get to crossing any lines the league has drawn.
“The only thing we really talk about is that we both want hockey to start,” Ryan Malone said Tuesday after participating in an informal workout with some former teammates at Southpointe. “I don’t think we know any significant secrets to tell each other.”
