Brett Sutter pleads guilty to disorderly conduct for punching cabbie

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Former Calgary Flames centre Brett Sutter has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for punching a cab driver outside a Scottsdale bar last year.

The 24-year-old Sutter entered his plea Monday. He is due back in Scottsdale City Court on Sept. 15 for a restitution hearing.

Scottsdale police say Sutter was arrested outside the American Junkie bar about 2 a.m. on Nov. 11. The Flames were in Arizona to play the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale.

Witnesses told police the cab driver didn't do or say anything to provoke Sutter as he walked by. Police say the cab driver sustained a bloody lip, and Sutter appeared to be intoxicated.

Sutter was briefly jailed and the Flames traded him a week later to the Carolina Hurricanes. He is on currently on the roster of the Hurricanes' American Hockey League affiliate in Charlotte.