Newly acquired Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mark Bell could be headed to jail.

Rogers Sportsnet reported on its website Tuesday that Bell pleaded guilty in a San Jose courtroom to charges of drunk driving causing injury and leaving the scene of an accident, stemming from a crash last summer.

Mark Bell disappointed last season with the Sharks after his legal problems began.
(Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

According to the report, the 27-year-old native of St. Paul, Ont., is expected to be sentenced to six months in a Santa Clara, Calif., county jail — a term he'll serve at the end of the upcoming NHL season. Official sentencing is set for October.

The Leafs acquired Bell in June from the San Jose Sharks in a deal that also brought goaltender Vesa Toskala to Toronto. The six-foot-four, 220-pound forward has two years remaining in a three-year, $6.5-million US contract.

The charges against Bell stem from an incident in San Jose on Labour Day last year when Bell's vehicle rear-ended a pickup truck in the early morning hours, leaving the driver of the truck with head injuries.

Bell allegedly fled the scene and was found a short distance away by San Jose police.

Bell scored a career-high 25 goals in 2005-06 with Chicago. The Sharks expected big things from Bell last season after getting him in a three-way deal that sent Martin Havlat to the Blackhawks and Tom Preissing to the Ottawa Senators.

Despite initially being placed on the Sharks' top line with stars Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo, Bell managed just 11 goals and 10 assists in 71 games.

Chosen eighth overall in the 1998 NHL draft by Chicago, Bell has 83 goals and 172 points in 410 career games with the Blackhawks and Sharks.

With files from the Canadian Press