Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf: Frustration led to use of inappropriate language

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf was fined $10,000 on Saturday for using inappropriate language during Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

The NHL announced the fine several hours before Game 5 of the series in Anaheim. Getzlaf, the Ducks' leading scorer in the postseason, expressed a measure of remorse after the Ducks' 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predatorslater Saturday.

"A situation like that, where I'm on the bench by myself, frustration set in," Getzlaf said. "There was obviously some words said, not necessarily directed at anyone in particular. It was just kind of a comment. I've got to be a little bit more responsible for the words I choose.

"Definitely as a father, as somebody that takes a lot of pride in this game and the respect for it, it's tough to see somebody refer to it as (a gay slur). I didn't mean it in that manner in any way. For that to take that route was very disappointing for me. I do accept responsibility and I accept the fine. We talked to the league and I understand that it's my responsibility to not use vulgar language. Period. Whether it's a swear word or whatever it is. We've got to be a little bit more respectful of the game, and that's up to me. I accept that responsibility and we'll move forward."

Getzlaf appeared to shout the inappropriate remark in frustration with an official after returning to Anaheim's bench. The game officials appeared to be too far away to hear Getzlaf, but television cameras were trained directly on him.

"That's my responsibility to understand that there are eyes and ears on us all the time," Getzlaf said. "Fortunately enough, nobody heard it. If you can read lips, it's a little bit harder, and I apologize for that. That's a thing that you won't hear from me again. I hope I didn't offend anybody outside the circle that we trust."

The fine is the maximum allowable under the league's collective bargaining agreement with the NHLPA.

"Getzlaf's comment in Thursday's game, particularly as directed to another individual on the ice, was inappropriately demeaning and disrespectful, and crossed the line into behavior that we deem unacceptable," said Colin Campbell, the NHL's senior executive vice president of hockey operations. "The type of language chosen and utilized in this instance will not be tolerated in the National Hockey League."

Getzlaf has scored 18 points in 16 playoff games during one of the best postseasons of his NHL career, but he has been held scoreless in six of the Ducks' past seven games, including Game 5. The 2007 Stanley Cup champion is the second-leading scorer in the current playoffs, trailing only Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

Anaheim, which trails 3-2 in the series, faces playoff elimination in Game 6 in Nashville on Monday night.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.