EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) – Former St. Louis Blues winger Mike Danton has admitted that he tried to hire a hit man, almost certainly bringing his NHL career to an end. When first reported the story sent a shockwave through the world of professional hockey, suggesting that Danton was planning on killing his male lover.

Danton, a native of Ontario, Canada has pled guilty to a federal murder-for-hire conspiracy charge and faces seven to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 22. The plot unraveled when the would-be hit man turned out to be a police informant. “Obviously, this is what I think is a good result,” prosecutor Stephen Clark said. “I think it’s a fair deal.”

According to FBI documents, Danton wanted the intended victim, his agent, David Frost, murdered at his St. Louis apartment in a way that made it look as though the victim was a thief who had broken in. But, when the FBI went to the home, Frost allegedly told investigators that he was Danton’s lover, and they lived together, a fact that at least one federal agent confirmed to St. Louis media outlets.

Frost told agents “that he and Danton had a severe argument on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 concerning Danton’s promiscuity and use of alcohol.”

The man told investigators that during the argument he “threatened to leave Danton,” the FBI court papers claim.

After the FBI had foiled the plot, the man Danton wanted dead allowed investigators to record a telephone conversation with Danton, according to the allegation.

“[He] asked Danton why he wanted to have him killed. Danton broke down and sobbed,” court papers said.

“Danton explained that he felt backed into a corner and felt that the acquaintance was going to leave him. Danton did not want to allow the acquaintance to leave him, and therefore decided to have him murdered.”

Danton is seeking transfer to a prison in Canada, and prosecutors and the FBI said they won’t oppose the move. US district judge William Stiehl, however, noted that Danton may not be allowed to return to the United States.

The prison time and possible restrictions likely will spell the end of the 23-year-old’s NHL career, but his lawyer Robert Haar said the plea was the best option his client could choose.

“This was about saving as much of a young man’s life as we could,” he said.

Danton was to have been tried in September with co-defendant Katie Wolfmeyer, 19. He and Wolfmeyer, a college student from a St. Louis suburb, faced identical conspiracy charges, with Wolfmeyer accused of trying to hire the would-be killer of Frost.

Danton’s plea agreement does not identify Frost as the intended victim. But prosecutors have said previously in open court that Frost was the man Danton wanted killed.

Frost, when contacted for the AP news story, angrily denied he was the target.

The would-be killer – identified by the government for the first time in court as Justin Jones, a Columbia, Ill. police dispatcher – eventually went to police, and Frost was unharmed.

The prosecutor told the judge that Danton had promised to pay Jones $10,000 for the killing, and to make it appear like a botched burglary.

Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Danton hung his head occasionally when Stiehl outlined the case against him. He replied to the judge’s questions with a “yes” or “no” before declaring, “I plead guilty.”

Danton has been jailed since his arrest April 16 in San Jose, Calif. a day after the San Jose Sharks eliminated the Blues from the playoffs. The Blues released Danton, a third-line checking forward, on July 1.

It’s not clear, meanwhile, why Danton’s relationship with Frost deteriorated to the point it ended up at the center of a murder-for-hire trial. With the guilty plea, Danton’s motives and the true nature of his relationship with Frost will remain a secret.

Danton has had a troubled NHL career, but seemed to be finding himself with the Blues.

He came to the Blues in a June trade from the New Jersey Devils, where he had been twice suspended for disciplinary reasons. He sat out all of the 2001-02 season and played in just 17 games in 2002-03.

Danton had seven goals, 12 points and 141 penalty minutes last season.