Former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ed Belfour has been arrested on criminal mischief and public intoxication charges in Bowling Green, Ky., jail records show.
Belfour, 54, was booked into the Warren County Regional Jail early Tuesday, according to the jail’s inmate records. He was arrested on charges of third-degree criminal mischief and alcohol intoxication in a public place.
Jail records show he is currently living in McKinney, Texas.
The former NHL star was arrested following an incident at the Kentucky Grand Hotel in downtown Bowling Green, local station WNKY reports. Authorities were called to the scene after a complaint about a drunk and disorderly person, according to the Bowling Green Daily News.
Belfour allegedly tried to fight a manager at the hotel bar, struck a glass window and pulled a curtain rod off the wall, according to an arrest citation obtained by WNKY and the Bowling Green Daily News. Police found him lying on the floor clutching the curtain rod, according to the citation. Officers said his speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot and he had difficulty standing up.
The native of Carman, Man., played 18 seasons in the NHL, won an Olympic gold medal in 2002 with Team Canada and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. “Eddie the Eagle” started his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, winning rookie-of-the-year honours in 1990-91 and back-to-back Vezina trophies as goalie of the year in ’90-91 and ’91-’92.
Belfour had a brief stint with the San Jose Sharks before he joined the Dallas Stars, with whom he won a Stanley Cup in 1999. Belfour later joined the Toronto Maple Leafs for a three-year stint before playing one final year in the NHL with the Florida Panthers.
The Stanley Cup winner had a few run-ins with the law during his playing career.
He was arrested on charges of assault and resisting arrest following a scuffle with a police officer at a hotel in Dallas in 2000.
He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of resisting police transfer, CBC reports. He was sentenced to 24 months of probation, which included visiting Dallas schools to warn students about the dangers of alcohol abuse. He was also fined US$3,000.
Belfour was arrested again in 2007 after he and then-Florida Panthers teammate Ville Peltonen got into a scuffle with a police officer at a South Beach bar. Belfour was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence, The Associated Press reported at the time.
He ultimately agreed to a plea bargain in the case, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported in 2007. He agreed to serve 20 hours of community service, contribute $200 to the Police Athletic League and submit a written apology to the arresting officer.
The former netminder launched a new distillery called Belfour Spirits in October 2019.
Belfour was on the Warren County Jail’s inmate list early Tuesday, but his name later disappeared from the list.