NHL to wait for 2018 Canada world junior sexual assault case to finish before considering next moves
NHL to wait for 2018 Canada world junior sexual assault case to finish before considering next moves
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks during a news conference in Toronto, Friday Feb. 2, 2024. NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade. The world’s top hockey league will allow its players to participate in the Games in 2026 in Milan and in 2030 under an agreement announced Friday by the NHL, the NHL Players’ Association, International Ice Hockey Federation and the IOC. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - New Jersey Devils’ Michael McLeod watches during a break in an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in Philadelphia. McLeod has been charged in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault by several members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team, his lawyers said Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - Calgary Flames center Dillon Dube (29) skates against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Detroit. Michael McLeod of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and Dube of the Flames have been charged in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault by several members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team. Lawyers for each player say they will plead not guilty in London, Ontario. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
FILE - Philadelphia Flyers’ goaltender Carter Hart in action during an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
FILE - Ottawa Senators’ Alex Formenton skates during an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 29, 2022, in Philadelphia. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their respective clubs in recent days amid a report that five members of that team have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - New Jersey Devils defenseman Cal Foote (52) during warm up before an NHL hockey game, against the Buffalo Sabres Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, in Newark, N.J. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their respective clubs in recent days amid a report that five members of that team have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team — Hart, McLeod, Dube, Formenton, Hart and Cal Foote of the Devils — have taken leaves from their current clubs.(AP Photo/Noah K. Murray, File)
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks during a news conference in Toronto, Friday Feb. 2, 2024. NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade. The world’s top hockey league will allow its players to participate in the Games in 2026 in Milan and in 2030 under an agreement announced Friday by the NHL, the NHL Players’ Association, International Ice Hockey Federation and the IOC. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks during a news conference in Toronto, Friday Feb. 2, 2024. NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade. The world’s top hockey league will allow its players to participate in the Games in 2026 in Milan and in 2030 under an agreement announced Friday by the NHL, the NHL Players’ Association, International Ice Hockey Federation and the IOC. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - New Jersey Devils’ Michael McLeod watches during a break in an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in Philadelphia. McLeod has been charged in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault by several members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team, his lawyers said Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - New Jersey Devils’ Michael McLeod watches during a break in an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in Philadelphia. McLeod has been charged in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault by several members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team, his lawyers said Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - Calgary Flames center Dillon Dube (29) skates against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Detroit. Michael McLeod of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and Dube of the Flames have been charged in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault by several members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team. Lawyers for each player say they will plead not guilty in London, Ontario. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
FILE - Calgary Flames center Dillon Dube (29) skates against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Detroit. Michael McLeod of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and Dube of the Flames have been charged in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault by several members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team. Lawyers for each player say they will plead not guilty in London, Ontario. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
FILE - Philadelphia Flyers’ goaltender Carter Hart in action during an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
FILE - Philadelphia Flyers’ goaltender Carter Hart in action during an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
FILE - Ottawa Senators’ Alex Formenton skates during an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 29, 2022, in Philadelphia. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their respective clubs in recent days amid a report that five members of that team have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - Ottawa Senators’ Alex Formenton skates during an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 29, 2022, in Philadelphia. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their respective clubs in recent days amid a report that five members of that team have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - New Jersey Devils defenseman Cal Foote (52) during warm up before an NHL hockey game, against the Buffalo Sabres Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, in Newark, N.J. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their respective clubs in recent days amid a report that five members of that team have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team — Hart, McLeod, Dube, Formenton, Hart and Cal Foote of the Devils — have taken leaves from their current clubs.(AP Photo/Noah K. Murray, File)
FILE - New Jersey Devils defenseman Cal Foote (52) during warm up before an NHL hockey game, against the Buffalo Sabres Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, in Newark, N.J. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their respective clubs in recent days amid a report that five members of that team have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges. Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team — Hart, McLeod, Dube, Formenton, Hart and Cal Foote of the Devils — have taken leaves from their current clubs.(AP Photo/Noah K. Murray, File)
TORONTO (AP) — The NHL will wait for the judicial process to play out before making any decisions about four players facing sexual assault charges in a 2018 case involving Canada’s world junior team that year, Commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday.
Addressing the situation at All-Star Weekend days after the NHL players were charged by police in London, Ontario, with sexual assault, Bettman called the allegations “abhorrent, reprehensible, horrific and unacceptable.”
Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, and Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames are all on indefinite leave from their teams. Bettman said the league does not consider it necessary to suspend the players without pay for the rest of the season.
“At this stage, the most responsible and prudent thing for us to do is await the conclusion of the judicial proceedings, at which point we will respond as appropriate at the time,” Bettman said. “The fact that they’re away from their teams and not playing I’m comfortable with. They’ve been paid the vast bulk of their salary for the year anyway. We’re coming down to the stretch run of when compensation is paid to players. That’s not the concern. The concern is to get this right.”
Bettman pointed out that all four do not have contracts beyond this season, and it appears unlikely any of the teams involved would attempt to terminate a deal before then.
“It becomes irrelevant in terms of the timing,” Bettman said. “They’re all away from their teams on leave, and (then) they’re all free agents. They won’t be under contract after this season anyway. In order to terminate a contract successfully, you need to be able to prove certain things.”
Former NHL player Alex Formenton has also been charged. Attorneys for all five players have said their clients are innocent. London Police have scheduled a Monday news conference to provide an update on the case.
Because of a legal backlog in Canada, it is unclear when any court proceedings might begin, let alone wrap up. Asked about the eligibility of Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube in the meantime, Bettman said he “would be surprised if they’re playing while this is pending.”
“If I were them, I would be focusing on defending themselves, assuming the charges come down,” Bettman said.
Bettman has wide latitude to make decisions in the interest of the game. The league in 2019 suspended Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov for the 2019-20 season and ensuing playoffs after determining he committed acts of domestic violence. Shane Pinto was suspended for 41 games for violating the league’s gambling policy.
The NHL launched its own investigation in 2022 and pledged to release the findings. Bettman said that investigation took roughly 12 months, finishing up last summer. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly added that nothing will be released while the case is ongoing.
NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh was tight-lipped about his and the union’s role in the situation.
“I think you have to wait and see what happens in the courts and how the court proceedings go,” he said. “And then after that, you have a conversation about what the next steps are. But I think you can’t go that far down the road right now.”
A woman sued Hockey Canada in 2022, alleging she was sexually assaulted in a hotel room by eight members of Canada’s world junior team after a fundraising gala in London in 2018. Hockey Canada settled the lawsuit, and then an investigation revealed the organization had two secret slush funds to pay out settlements on claims of sexual assault and abuse.
Bettman said the league found out about the allegations on May 26, 2022. He said the NHL interviewed every player from that team, adding the woman involved declined to take part in the investigation.
“There’s no fault there,” Bettman said. “She was absolutely within her rights not to talk to us, and we respect that, but that impacts also how the investigation had complexity to it.”
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