Mike Danton Michael Sage Danton ( born as Michael Stephen Jefferson on October 21 , 1980 ) is a Canadian ice hockey player currently playing for the IFK Ore of the Swedish Division 1 . Danton played for the New Jersey Devils and St . Louis Blues of the National Hockey League between 2000 and 2004 , before being imprisoned for a conspiracy to commit murder . He was released on parole on September 11 , 2009 after 63 months in jail , the original sentence being 90 months . Junior hockey career . Danton began junior hockey in the 1996 - 97 season with the Quinte Hawks of the Metro Junior A Hockey League . He played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1997 to 2000 with the Sarnia Sting , the St . Michael ' s Majors , and the Barrie Colts . Playing for the Colts during the 2000 Memorial Cup in Halifax , Danton , then going by his birth name Jefferson , commented in the press that Brad Richards would not last five games in the Ontario Hockey League . and later refused to shake Richards ' hand after he had been named tournament MVP . Professional hockey career ( 2000 - 2004 ) . Selected 135th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft , Danton was a left winger for the St . Louis Blues , who traded a 3rd round draft pick to New Jersey to obtain him . He played 68 games for the Blues in the 2003 – 04 season . While with the Devils organization , he changed his last name from Jefferson to Danton after becoming estranged from his family . He admitted he adopted the surname " Danton " from the name of a 13 - year - old boy at David Frost ' s hockey camp , because the name sounded " cool " . He also feuded with New Jersey general manager Lou Lamoriello and was suspended by the team , prompting his eventual trade to St . Louis . Arrest and imprisonment ( 2004 – 2009 ) . On April 16 , 2004 , two days after the Blues were eliminated from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the San Jose Sharks , Danton was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder . On July 16 , 2004 , he pled guilty to attempting to hire a hitman , who was actually a police dispatcher , to murder David Frost , his agent , and was sentenced by U . S . District Judge William Stiehl to seven - and - a - half years in a United States federal prison . To this day , however , Frost denies that he was the target . Recently , Danton has claimed that his original target was his estranged father , Steve Jefferson . In November 2005 , the CBC program " The Fifth Estate " aired a documentary , " Rogue Agent " , about the history between Danton and Frost . In it , the documentary casts light on the controlling relationship Frost had with Danton and how he encouraged Danton to estrange himself from his parents , as well as an alleged incident where Frost and a group of his players abused Danton ' s younger brother . The documentary also focuses on a taped telephone call Danton made to Frost a week after his arrest . In it , Frost instructs Danton to plead guilty and ends the conversation demanding Danton say " I love you , " which Danton does , further fueling speculation of a homosexual relationship between the two . In 2006 , Frost was charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation related to acts on three females and four males between the ages of 14 and 16 , alleged to have occurred during the time that Frost was Danton ' s junior hockey coach , with the Quinte Hawks . Frost was acquitted of all charges on November 28 , 2008 ; the trial included testimony from women who had participated in threesomes with other players and Danton . In an unrelated matter , Frost was also acquitted on February 14 , 2009 of fraud charges related to the use of one of Danton ' s credit cards ; Danton stated that Frost had his permission to use the card . In July 2008 , in an article in the " Denver Post " , it was revealed that Howard Kieffer , the lawyer who represented Danton in his murder conspiracy case , had never graduated from law school , and so was not licensed to practice law . In September 2008 , Kieffer pled not guilty to two felony charges and news reports revealed that he would not be representing himself . On March 19 , 2009 , the United States Bureau of Prisons granted Danton ' s request to be transferred to a Canadian prison after five years at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sandstone ; he was housed at the Pittsburgh Institution in Joyceville , Ontario . Under Canadian law , Danton was eligible for parole , which was granted on September 11 , 2009 . Conditions of his parole include no contact with his father ( who Danton now claims was the intended target ) , and no face - to - face meetings with Frost ( widely believed to be Danton ' s actual target ) . University hockey career ( 2010 – 2011 ) . Danton took university correspondence courses at Queen ' s University while imprisoned . In fall 2009 he applied to Saint Mary ' s University in Halifax , Nova Scotia for January 2010 entry . Danton initially enrolled in three courses for the winter 2010 semester and joined the Saint Mary ' s Huskies varsity men ' s hockey team . On January 27 , 2010 , Danton played in his first game since being released from prison , and scored a goal for the Saint Mary ' s Huskies , during their 4 - 1 loss to the Acadia Axemen , played at the Halifax Forum in Halifax . On January 30 , 2010 , Danton played for the Saint Mary ' s Huskies during a 5 - 3 loss to the UPEI Panthers played at the MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown . On March 28 , 2010 , the Saint Mary ' s Huskies defeated the Alberta Golden Bears to win the 2010 University Cup , played in Thunder Bay , Ontario . It was announced by Canadian Interuniversity Sport on October 4 , 2010 that Mike Danton had been named an Academic All - Canadian based on a student CIS athlete achieving a grade point average of 3 . 7 or higher . Danton achieved a 3 . 9 GPA overall through the winter and spring semesters as well as summer school , and it was revealed in a media story that his study ethic keeps him in the Patrick Power Library at Saint Mary ' s until 11pm each night . Return to professional hockey ( 2011 – present ) . On July 28 , 2011 , Danton announced on his Twitter account that he had signed with a Swedish professional club for the 2011 – 12 season . The following day , this was confirmed to be the Division 1 club IFK Ore . The club explained that " We ' re obviously aware of his background but it was years ago " . The club further explained that Danton ' s playing knowledge was the reason why the club chose to acquire him . On September 20 , 2011 , while playing his first game for Ore , Danton saved Marcus Bengtsson ' s life using skills he learned in prison . After his linemate hit his head on the ice after a hard hit , Bengtsson started convulsing . Danton waited for his teammate ' s mouth to release before using his hand to prevent Bengtsson from choking on his own tongue .