Steve Downie Steve Downie ( born April 3 , 1987 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the National Hockey League . Playing career . Downie grew up in Holland Landing , Ontario , the younger son of John and Anne Downie . He has a brother , Greg . He attended Sacred Heart High School in Newmarket , playing hockey for the York - Simcoe Express AAA organization of the OMHA . He also attended St . Joseph ' s Catholic High School in Windsor , Ontario in 2004 . Downie led his Express Bantam team to the All - Ontario AAA Championship in April of 2002 . He was drafted in the 1st round ( 16th overall ) by the Windsor Spitfires in the 2003 OHL Priority Selection . Downie was selected in the first round , 29th overall , in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers . Not long after being drafted , Downie was suspended for five games early in the 2005 – 06 OHL season for an on - ice altercation with teammate Akim Aliu . During a practice on September 28 , 2005 , Downie blindly cross - checked Aliu in the face without warning , knocking out 3 of his teeth , and then proceeded to fight his younger teammate . The incident stemmed from 16 - year - old Aliu ' s refusal to take part in a hazing incident , where he would have been forced to stand naked in a cramped bus bathroom with other rookies . The team suspended Downie for five games and Aliu for one , and Downie was told to undergo professional counseling . Head coach Moe Mantha , Jr . was suspended by the OHL and later fired by the team , and the team was fined $ 35 , 000 by the OHL . Downie left the team , requesting a trade , and was eventually traded from the Windsor Spitfires , going to the Peterborough Petes in exchange for Peter Aston . Brent Sutter named Downie to the Canadian World Junior Team for the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . He made a name for himself in Vancouver where he was a contributor to Canada ’ s gold medal - winning effort , scoring two goals and four assists in six games and being named to the all - tournament team . On May 30 , 2006 , the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they had signed Downie to a three - year entry - level contract . “ It is unbelievable , ” said Downie in a Flyers press release . " “ [ Signing with the Flyers ] was one of the goals that I had set at the beginning of the year and I am just very thankful for this chance . I ’ m a gritty , physical player and I also am an offensive player as well . ” " After attending Flyers ' training camp in the fall and playing in several pre - season games , the club returned Downie to Peterborough . Downie returned to the international stage yet again in December 2006 . He participated at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Leksand and Mora , Sweden . On January 5 , 2007 , Team Canada won the gold medal for the first time on European ice since 1997 , with a 4 – 2 defeat over Team Russia . Throughout the whole tournament , though , Downie was involved in trade rumors . On January 8 , 2007 , Downie was traded to Kitchener in exchange for Yves Bastien , the Rangers ' second - round picks in the 2007 and 2008 OHL Priority Selections , as well as the 2007 second - round pick of the Brampton Battalion . NHL . Downie made his National Hockey League debut on December 5 , 2007 against the Minnesota Wild . He scored his first NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 5 , 2008 . During the game , Downie got into a scuffle with Leafs forward Jason Blake . While the linesmen were attempting to keep them apart , Downie got his left arm loose and sucker - punched Blake in the left eye while Blake ' s arms and hands were still tied up by the other linesman . During a game against the New York Rangers on February 9 , 2008 , Downie was hip - checked by Rangers defenseman Fedor Tyutin , and his skate hit linesman Pat Dapuzzo in the face . Dapuzzo required 60 stitches and suffered a broken nose , and was forced to retire . In game three of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 13 , 2008 , Downie hit Petr Sykora as the play ended on Ryan Malone ' s goal that gave Pittsburgh a 3 - 1 lead . Sykora did not have the puck when Downie hit him . On November 7 , 2008 , Downie was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with Steve Eminger for defenceman Matt Carle . In March of 2010 , Downie was fined for a hit on Sidney Crosby . Downie stated that Colin Campbell , league disciplinarian , told him it was a " dangerous play " . Downie finished his first full season with 46 points in 79 games . After a successful season he was selected to participate in the 2010 World Championships . On August 25 , 2010 , Downie re - signed with the Lightning on a 2 year bridge contract with $ 3 . 7 million . Suspensions . Downie has been suspended for several incidents , in addition to the Aliu incident mentioned above . During a September 25 , 2007 , preseason game against the Ottawa Senators , Downie was involved in an incident in which he checked unsuspecting left winger Dean McAmmond into the boards , while Downie ' s feet were off the ice . Due to the extent of McAmmond ' s injury and having left his skates during the hit , Downie was suspended by the NHL for 20 games three days later for deliberate injury to McAmmond , as the NHL were cracking down on any play resulting in a head injury . To date , it is the fifth longest suspension given by the league . One day after the NHL suspension was announced , the Flyers announced they had sent Downie down to the team ' s American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Philadelphia Phantoms . Per AHL by - laws , Downie was considered automatically ineligible to play pending a review by the AHL ( as the AHL honors NHL suspensions ) . AHL President David Andrews suspended Downie for the first month of the 2007 - 2008 AHL season as a result of the attempt injuries to McAmmond . On February 28 , 2009 , Downie , by this point playing for the Norfolk Admirals ( the Lightning AHL affiliate ) , slashed a linesman in the shin following a controversial empty - net goal in a game against the Hershey Bears , receiving a game misconduct for physical abuse of an official . Under AHL rules , this penalty carries an automatic 20 - game suspension , which would be Downie ' s second such lengthy suspension . International play . Played for Ontario in : Played for Canada in :