Brandon Prust apologized for making his dispute with referee Brad Watson public following Sunday’s game.  It appears that Prust is standing firm that Watson made the comments. His regret is airing the dirty laundry.

“First off, I’d like to apologize to Brad Watson and the rest of the officials in the NHL. It was uncalled for. We got in a heated exchange, and that should have stayed between us. I’ve always played by the code on and off the ice, I’m a pretty honest player. On Sunday I crossed the line. I am apologizing for everything. I am apologizing to Brad. It should stay out on the ice. We got heated, and I should know more than anybody what happens out there stays out there and there’s a code and there’s an honor. After the game I was not myself. I was fired up, I was out of my mind. If I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn’t have even have went in to do interviews. But what’s done is done, and we move on.” — Brandon Prust

NHL Media Release

NEW YORK — Montreal Canadiens forward Brandon Prust has been fined $5,000 for derogatory public comments directed toward Referee Brad Watson during his post-game media availability on Sunday, May 3, the National Hockey League announced today.

“Brandon Prust‘s post-game comments were both baseless and demeaning of a referee whose 20-year career in the League has been marked by professionalism, integrity and a high degree of respect from players, coaches and management,” said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.