Tom Kostopoulos Thomas Kostopoulos ( born January 24 , 1979 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Kostopoulos previously played with the Carolina Hurricanes , Montreal Canadiens , Los Angeles Kings , and Pittsburgh Penguins . Kostopoulos is of Greek descent . Playing career . In his early years , Tom graduated from Fairwind Senior Public School in 1993 . After playing much of his minor hockey in the GTHL with the Toronto Marlboros and Mississauga Reps , Kostopoulos played 1 year with the Brampton Capitals of the OJHL ( OHA ) . He was a 2nd round pick ( 18th overall ) in the 1996 OHL Priority Selection by the London Knights . Kostopoulos was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft . Before that he played junior hockey with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League . He made his professional minor - league hockey debut with the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League . Kostopoulos made his NHL debut with the Penguins in the 2001 - 02 season and enjoyed his best season so far with Pittsburgh in 2003 - 04 . During the 2005 off season , he played with the Manchester Monarchs , having signed a free - agent contract with the Los Angeles Kings . On July 3 , 2007 he signed a free - agent contract with the Montreal Canadiens . Kostopoulos is known as the team joker in the dressing room . He once sewed someone ' s keys inside their pocket . The joker stories from the team are not limited to this ; in fact there are numerous other stories that have surfaced around the team . Kostopoulos ' s nickname during his tenure for the London Knights was " Tommy Non - stopoulos " due to his extraordinary on - ice work ethic . On January 22 , 2008 , he recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick in a 8 - 2 victory against the Boston Bruins . His fight victim was Shane Hnidy . On November 10 , 2008 , Kostopoulos was suspended for three games for a hit on Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Mike Van Ryn during the game between the teams on November 8 . He was given a boarding major penalty and ejected from the game . Kostopoulos will also forfeit US - $ 33 , 000 in pay . Kostopoulos responded about the incident by saying , " First and foremost , I sincerely regret the injuries suffered by Mike Van Ryn . . . this is an unfortunate turn of events . I was just trying to get in on the forecheck and get the puck . I didn ' t anticipate him turning and couldn ' t stop . I was trying to finish my check and obviously it did not end up well . I never intend on injuring another player . I feel bad . I hope he is going to be all right and resume playing as quickly as possible . " NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said in announcing the suspension that while Van Ryn was not in a defenseless position , his injuries — including a concussion - - were significant enough to warrant suspending Kostopoulos . Personal life . Kostopoulos was born in Mississauga , Ontario , on January 24 , 1979 . He named his brother Chris , a coach in Texas , as his biggest influence in hockey . He and his wife Lisa have two children : Lily and Luc . They spend their offseasons in Oakville , Ontario . He is of Greek descent , and in 2008 was the grand marshal of the Hellenic Community of Montreal ' s Greek Independence Day parade . Kostopoulos is involved with the Canadian Cancer Society as well as Garth Brooks ' Teammates For Kids Foundation . On February 11 , 2008 , Kostopoulos and teammate Ryan O ' Byrne were arrested outside a Tampa , Florida nightclub following a purse - snatching incident . While O ' Byrne was charged with theft , Kostopoulos was charged with resisting the officers . Both were released on bail shortly after . On February 22 , Tampa police dropped the charges against Kostopoulos following a letter of apology written by him and that he also promised to perform community service .