Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt received a 20-game suspension for a violation of the NHL's performance-enhancing-drug policy, the team announced Sunday.
Sports Illustrated's Alex Prewitt shared a statement from Schmidt in which the five-year veteran denied knowingly taking a banned substance:
Alex PrewittAn even stronger, detailed statement from Nate Schmidt: https://t.co/odfaztrHuk
"Not only did I not intentionally take a banned substance, I could not have received any performance enhancement benefit from the trace amount that inadvertently got into my system at a level that was far too small to have any effect," Schmidt said.