Toronto’s Carter Ashton banned 20 games for violating NHL’s PED policy

The NHL suspended Toronto Maple Leafs forward Carter Ashton for 20 games without pay for violating the terms of the NHL/NHL Players’ Assn. Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Ashton said in a statement issued by the NHLPA that he will not appeal the decision, which will cost him $169,185.

Ashton, who had no points in three games with the Maple Leafs this season, said in the statement he inadvertently ingested the banned drug Clenbuterol when he used a borrowed inhaler to ease the discomfort of an asthma spasm. He said he used the inhaler once in late August while training with other athletes, he said, and used it again early in training camp.

“Unfortunately, I incorrectly assumed that there were no problems associated with the use of this inhaler and I used it without checking to see whether its contents were permissible under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program,” he said.

“I now recognize that I ingested Clenbuterol, a prohibited substance, through the inhaler. However, at no time was I seeking to gain an athletic advantage or to knowingly violate the terms of the program. I used the inhaler in response to exercise-induced asthma, a condition that my doctor with the Toronto Maple Leafs has since diagnosed and he has prescribed me with an inhaler.”

Ashton, the son of former NHL player Brent Ashton and a first-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2009 entry draft, said he accepted responsibility for his actions. Brendan Shanahan, the president of the Maple Leafs, said the club supports the performance-enhancing substances program and the league’s suspension but declined additional comment.

The NHL will grant a therapeutic-use exemption in certain medical circumstances, but Ashton apparently did not request one for the borrowed inhaler.

The suspension is accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment.