Belfour, Peltonen arrested in Miami

Florida Panthers goalie Ed Belfour is in trouble with the law again, arrested along with teammate Ville Peltonen after an incident early Monday at a South Beach, Miami, nightspot.

Belfour was asked to leave the Nikki Beach club after 1 a.m. ET and allegedly pulled away from a police officer trying to arrest him and grabbed his shirt.

Belfour then fell forward on the ground, kicking and refusing to place his hands behind his back, a police report said.

The 41-year-old was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence.

Peltonen, 33, was charged with criminal mischief after he allegedly broke a metal pole off a fire rescue truck parked in the area.

Both players were booked at the Miami-Dade County Jail.

It is the latest troubling off-ice incident involving Belfour.

Scuffled with partner

Earlier this season, goaltending partner Alex Auld received stitches over his eyebrow after an altercation with Belfour at a New York-area hotel. The pair insisted the incident resulted from horseplay and that alcohol was not a factor.

Belfour was arrested in 2001 for fighting with security guards and police at a Dallas hotel.

According to police reports, Belfour spit and kicked at officers, who used pepper spray to subdue him. While being taken to jail, the goaltender allegedly offered $100,000 US for officers to let him go, then upped it to $1 billion US.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of resisting arrest and was placed on two years' probation and fined $3,000 US. He also was enrolled in the NHL's substance-abuse program.

Belfour rebounded from a subpar season with Toronto in 2005-06 to post a 27-17-10 record with Florida, which did not make the playoffs. The goalie finished with a shutout and 2.77 goals-against average.

He made 22 saves Friday in a 7-2 win over Tampa Bay, in what could conceivably be his last NHL appearance.

It was not the only incident Monday morning involving Miami area pro athletes. James Posey of the NBA's Miami Heat was arrested and charged with drunken driving.