NHL reinstates Bowman, MacIsaac, Quenneville after ban for role in Blackhawks scandal

Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJul 1, 2024, 05:06 PM ET

CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

The NHL will allow three Chicago Blackhawks executives to seek employment in the league after being banned in October 2021 after an independent investigation into how they handled a sexual assault allegation in 2010.

NHL teams are allowed to speak with Stan Bowman, Al MacIsaac and Joel Quenneville about positions within their franchises but can’t enter into new employment relationships with any of them until on or after Wednesday, July 10, the league announced on Monday. All three had a role in three Blackhawks Stanley Cup championships while they were in Chicago.

Bowman was the Blackhawks’ president of hockey operations and general manager. MacIsaac was senior director of hockey administration. Both stepped aside from their roles in Oct. 2021. Quenneville resigned as head coach of the Florida Panthers that same month after a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Their ineligibility came after an independent investigation into how the Chicago Blackhawks handled a sexual assault allegation in 2010, when then-player Kyle Beach said he was sexually assaulted by video coach Brad Aldrich. The report found that Blackhawks officials didn’t want to take action against Aldrich at the time because they didn’t want to disrupt the team’s path to the Stanley Cup title.

The NHL never formally suspended any of the three executives, but Bettman had said they could only return to working in the league under “appropriate condition”s which such new employment might take place.

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“For more than the last two and a half years, these individuals have been ineligible to work for any NHL team as a result of their inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Blackhawks’ Player, Kyle Beach, had been assaulted by the Club’s video coach. While it is clear that, at the time, their responses were unacceptable, each of these three individuals has acknowledged that and…


Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40476273/nhl-reinstates-bowman-quenneville-macisaac-ban-role-blackhawks-scandal

Author : Greg Wyshynski

Publish date : 2024-07-01 22:14:51

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