Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will not be disciplined for not taking action on sexual assault allegations against former Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010, as the NHL determined he did not have the authority “to make appropriate organizational decisions relating to this matter.”
Commissioner Gary Bettman met with Cheveldayoff on Friday, before the NHL’s announcement. He concluded based on that conversation and the team’s investigation that Cheveldayoff was not responsible for improper decisions made at the time.
“While on some level, it would be easiest to paint everyone with any association to this terrible matter with the same broad brush, I believe that fundamental fairness requires a more in-depth analysis of the role of each person,” Bettman said in a statement. “Kevin Cheveldayoff was not a member of the Blackhawks senior leadership team in 2010, and I cannot, therefore, assign to him responsibility for the Club’s actions, or inactions. He provided a full account of his degree of involvement in the matter, which was limited exclusively to his attendance at a single meeting, and I found him to be extremely forthcoming and credible in our discussion.”
Cheveldayoff, as a Blackhawks assistant general manager, was among a handful of people in a May 23, 2010, meeting to address the allegations made by Kyle Beach, who revealed himself this week as the player who was sexually assaulted and harassed by Aldrich.
Others in the meeting included Stan Bowman, who resigned as Blackhawks president earlier this week, and then-Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, who resigned as Florida Panthers coach Thursday. No action was taken against Aldrich until June 16, when he chose to resign rather than face an investigation.
That meant Aldrich stayed on with the Blackhawks through their 2010 Stanley Cup title win. Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz wrote a letter to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Friday asking for Aldrich’s name to be removed from the Stanley Cup.
Cheveldayoff has served as Jets general manager since 2011. He is the only person who was present in the meeting about Beach’s allegations to still be working in the NHL.
Information from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and The Associated Press was used in this report.
