How about giving us an update on Mike Richards and Slava Voynov from the 100% morally correct LA Kings perspective. They would never employ a player who isn't totally virtuous and ethical would they?
- RickJ

So the Hawks are good in your books because other teams have failed in this regard as well?? Two wrongs make a right in your world?

Is death an option Sage?
- HawkintheD

No - you’ll sit here and take it like the rest of us.

Why should you get an easy way out?

So the Hawks are good in your books because other teams have failed in this regard as well?? Two wrongs make a right in your world?
- TurdFergeson

So the Hawks are good in your books because other teams have failed in this regard as well?? Two wrongs make a right in your world?
- TurdFergeson

Did anyone on this blog says the Hawks handled this correctly? We don't need the drive by shootings. Please tell me the constructiveness of his posts?

So the Hawks are good in your books because other teams have failed in this regard as well?? Two wrongs make a right in your world?
- TurdFergeson

There's not a single Hawks fan on this site whose reaction to what we learned has not fallen somewhere on the disappointment <--> outrage scale. I don't think if you were to read the posts yesterday and today, you'd come away with the feeling that we think anything the Hawks did in this situation was "good."

Under the circumstances, it was a much better effort but indicative of a team lacking any real confidence trying to hang on somehow to squeeze out a win. Safety first doesn't work

A Leaf fan who might be thinking his team is a real contender got reminded they aren't even close. Waxed by Carolina and ever so close to losing against a team going bad right now. What was laughable was listening to Keefe's post game presser praising his team's character and determination.
- RickJ

No the Leafs aren’t looking good, although my fear is they struggle through the regular season to figure things out and become playoff ready. They are still badly in need of defensemen and with their cap situation it’s unlikely they can afford their best defenseman Reilly unless they move one of the “big” four. Kampf is playing quite well this season, he’s one of the few plumbers the Leafs have.

No - you’ll sit here and take it like the rest of us.

Why should you get an easy way out?
- StLBravesFan

Hi, Sage. Two questions....what are thoughts on the game last night?

And how's the recovery going for Mrs. Sage?

Well, one more....does she know that you are called Sage here?

Did anyone on this blog says the Hawks handled this correctly? We don't need the drive by shootings. Please tell me the constructiveness of his posts?
- LAHawk

Ask him about Gordon Stuckless before you remind him of 54 years of futility.

You’re part of the problem

GARBAGE ORGANIZATION
- KINGS67

Be careful about pointing fingers. Given the nature of hockey culture I doubt this type of investigation ends with the current situation. There will be more investigations (over time) and additional teams will be involved. I'd like to think this was a one-off occurrence but realistically I don't think that's the case.

There's no excuse for the Hawks handling of the situation. They should have cleaned house and they did. I'm struggling to reconcile what an appropriate punishment would be for the Hawks. $2 million doesn't seem enough, but then again money doesn't help the KB and doesn't prevent it from happening again. Draft picks are an option too, but does that punish the team or the fans (who have to live with an inferior product). For me it's about HOW the team conducts business going forward and what efforts are made to repair the damage they caused and prevent it from happening again.

So the Hawks are good in your books because other teams have failed in this regard as well?? Two wrongs make a right in your world?
- TurdFergeson

Am I right to assume the 1st four letters of your moniker is your real first name?

I was responding to the pompous poster from the LA Kings. The response did not include a defence of anything the Hawks management hierarchy did in handling this matter. And if it makes you feel better, I consider Rocky Wirtz equally complicit. He had to know.

Under the circumstances, it was a much better effort but indicative of a team lacking any real confidence trying to hang on somehow to squeeze out a win. Safety first doesn't work

A Leaf fan who might be thinking his team is a real contender got reminded they aren't even close. Waxed by Carolina and ever so close to losing against a team going bad right now. What was laughable was listening to Keefe's post game presser praising his team's character and determination.
- RickJ

The Leafs three wins have come against Montreal, Ottawa and Chicago and they're already planning the parade

No - you’ll sit here and take it like the rest of us.

Why should you get an easy way out?
- StLBravesFan

The Leafs three wins have come against Montreal, Ottawa and Chicago and they're already planning the parade
- WEWANTCUP

That’s OK, plans for the last parade didn’t go to waste, the Raptors used them.

Be careful about pointing fingers. Given the nature of hockey culture I doubt this type of investigation ends with the current situation. There will be more investigations (over time) and additional teams will be involved. I'd like to think this was a one-off occurrence but realistically I don't think that's the case.

There's no excuse for the Hawks handling of the situation. They should have cleaned house and they did. I'm struggling to reconcile what an appropriate punishment would be for the Hawks. $2 million doesn't seem enough, but then again money doesn't help the KB and doesn't prevent it from happening again. Draft picks are an option too, but does that punish the team or the fans (who have to live with an inferior product). For me it's about HOW the team conducts business going forward and what efforts are made to repair the damage they caused and prevent it from happening again.
- DarthKane

Thoughtful, intelligent and insightful posts are a violation of the terms of service, Darth

Be careful about pointing fingers. Given the nature of hockey culture I doubt this type of investigation ends with the current situation. There will be more investigations (over time) and additional teams will be involved. I'd like to think this was a one-off occurrence but realistically I don't think that's the case.

There's no excuse for the Hawks handling of the situation. They should have cleaned house and they did. I'm struggling to reconcile what an appropriate punishment would be for the Hawks. $2 million doesn't seem enough, but then again money doesn't help the KB and doesn't prevent it from happening again. Draft picks are an option too, but does that punish the team or the fans (who have to live with an inferior product). For me it's about HOW the team conducts business going forward and what efforts are made to repair the damage they caused and prevent it from happening again.
- DarthKane

Saw last night that Aly Raisman, of US Gymnastics Olympics fame and one of the most outspoken and visible victim advocates in the Nassar scandal, tweeted out her support for Beach last night.

The NHL will not be able to keep this "in house" like they seem to love to do with scandals (CTE anyone?), nor should they be able to...the more this spreads, the more likely that others will come forward with their own stories.

I'm torn between hoping that happens so that the sport finally has to address a long-standing issue at all levels, and praying it does not because that will make it clear just how many people have be hurt and damaged for life while it was allowed to go on.

Termination of contract possibly also. Not the hawks but NHL nhlpa and all of hockey teams need to learn from this unfortunate and horrible situation that happen and too never let it happen again. Hawks have a lot of fences to mend but getting rid if those responsible even that means towes and Kane via trade or termination of contracts is step in the right direction. And would not be surprise if this has happen in other NHL teams and more victims have the courage too come forward. But this a problem throughout society not only in sports let's not forget that. Sometimes it's hard to say the right things or do the right things not defending the hawks in any matter but until your in those situations hard to tell what a individual or corporation will do. Obviously hawks did not do the right thing a young men suffered. So hope the victims can have some closure to this incident and try live as best as they can.
- Scott1977

Let's think this through for a moment. Who are the players supposed to report this to (if they knew about it when it was happening)? Coach? GM? President of Hockey Operations? HR? Owner? It seemed like the coach, GM and Pres did know about this. I do not know how you can blame the players for this failure. Thinking about where I work, I would notify my supervisor, and then I would hope that it would be taken up from there. So those of you who say Toews, Kane, Keith are jacking this around, it is not their issue to resolve. They are not paid to make HR decisions.

Let's think this through for a moment. Who are the players supposed to report this to (if they knew about it when it was happening)? Coach? GM? President of Hockey Operations? HR? Owner? It seemed like the coach, GM and Pres did know about this. I do not know how you can blame the players for this failure. Thinking about where I work, I would notify my supervisor, and then I would hope that it would be taken up from there. So those of you who say Toews, Kane, Keith are jacking this around, it is not their issue to resolve. They are not paid to make HR decisions.
- powerenforcer

that is a good point I m more blaming the hawks organization players should just said no comment and leave at that.

Let's think this through for a moment. Who are the players supposed to report this to (if they knew about it when it was happening)? Coach? GM? President of Hockey Operations? HR? Owner? It seemed like the coach, GM and Pres did know about this. I do not know how you can blame the players for this failure. Thinking about where I work, I would notify my supervisor, and then I would hope that it would be taken up from there. So those of you who say Toews, Kane, Keith are jacking this around, it is not their issue to resolve. They are not paid to make HR decisions.
- powerenforcer

that is a good point I m more blaming the hawks organization players should just said no comment and leave at that.

YES, I think of all the men in that room he harbors the "least" amount of responsibility, but he said nothing and played in a cover up for 10 years before finally, for whatever reason, appearing to finally come clean.
- kwolf68

As I understand the Blackhawk's policy, the issue should have been brought to the attention of HR immediately. It falls under their jurisdiction to address the problem. The report indicates that it was a full month before HR was notified.

If, as it appears, McD assumed responsibility for taking the issue to HR, I agree with the statement that SB "harbors the least amount of responsibility".

How much responsibility he should harbor is an interesting question. Presentism - judging past actions by today's standards - has become the norm. It is unclear to me whether SB had a responsibility to ensure that HIS BOSS followed through...as measured by the standards at that time.

To me, we need to be careful of applying today's standards to history, whether it be this situation or simply eating a hamburger. It is possible that people 50 years from now will judge us, who still eat meat, as utter barbarians, lesser humans and/or cannibals.

I cannot speak for all "Boomers" - and would be interested in the perspective of others in management roles during that time. But I can say that that had I been in a meeting with my boss 11 years ago and he/she told the group that they would take care of something, that was that. I would also be 100% certain that they would follow through on a timely manner.

So, I am uncomfortable with SB getting fired for his boss's obvious negligence. I see him as a bit of a scapegoat who was fired because somebody in that meeting needed to be sacrificed and he was one of the two remaining. I also don't agree that he "covered it up for 10 years" - to me, the clock stopped when HR (which did not report to SB) was notified.

All that said, I would have fired SB for the teams abysmal start this year.

Let's think this through for a moment. Who are the players supposed to report this to (if they knew about it when it was happening)? Coach? GM? President of Hockey Operations? HR? Owner? It seemed like the coach, GM and Pres did know about this. I do not know how you can blame the players for this failure. Thinking about where I work, I would notify my supervisor, and then I would hope that it would be taken up from there. So those of you who say Toews, Kane, Keith are jacking this around, it is not their issue to resolve. They are not paid to make HR decisions.
- powerenforcer

Beach is contending that not only were the players aware of it some were using homophobic slurs against him. If true it’s hard to defend the players even factoring in their age.

Beach is contending that not only were the players aware of it some were using homophobic slurs against him. If true it’s hard to defend the players even factoring in their age.
- paulr

I think pe just means from a legal standpoint. Morally, those who took part in using slurs against him were in the wrong.

Beach is contending that not only were the players aware of it some were using homophobic slurs against him. If true it’s hard to defend the players even factoring in their age.
- paulr

It wasn't just Beach, two other players came forward yesterday and said it was a topic of conversation for days.

I understand Kane, Toews, Keith etc trying to distance themselves, but instead of lying about it saying they had no clue, just say no comment,

Let's think this through for a moment. Who are the players supposed to report this to (if they knew about it when it was happening)? Coach? GM? President of Hockey Operations? HR? Owner? It seemed like the coach, GM and Pres did know about this. I do not know how you can blame the players for this failure. Thinking about where I work, I would notify my supervisor, and then I would hope that it would be taken up from there. So those of you who say Toews, Kane, Keith are jacking this around, it is not their issue to resolve. They are not paid to make HR decisions.
- powerenforcer

Based on Sopel's statement yesterday (differs a bit from his original statements to Westhead), he and Boynton knew, took it Vincent, who told them he would take it to HR. And as Sopel said, they then assumed it was being handled and felt it wasn't their place to follow-up. When the players came back the following year and Aldrich was gone, they assumed it had been handled.

https://twitter.com/emily.../1453445863188086789?s=20

As clumsy, ill-advised, and cringeworthy as the Kane/Toews statements were, Toews' especially, they do both mention that they wished they had tried to get more details and had done more to help Beach.

Regardless of the definitive statements on SM, there are of course questions about what they knew, who knew at what level of specificity, how each individual responded, and who did the harassing still out there. Not sure we can answer them without Beach and/or those players sharing more specifics. For example, even after reading everything and watching Beach's interview, I'm personally still not clear on whether the FO and players knew it was a full-blown sexual assault or it was sexual advances that were rebuffed and associated threats to the players' careers.

In the end, what matters is that Beach can hopefully start healing and the players who did not do right by him can spend a lot of time looking in the mirror and deciding how to behave differently going forward. Maybe, if Beach is open to it, they can try and make amends.

Let's think this through for a moment. Who are the players supposed to report this to (if they knew about it when it was happening)? Coach? GM? President of Hockey Operations? HR? Owner? It seemed like the coach, GM and Pres did know about this. I do not know how you can blame the players for this failure. Thinking about where I work, I would notify my supervisor, and then I would hope that it would be taken up from there. So those of you who say Toews, Kane, Keith are jacking this around, it is not their issue to resolve. They are not paid to make HR decisions.
- powerenforcer

Exactly. A week after the incident, Beach tells coach Paul Vincent (the only member of management who acted properly) and he runs it up the flagpole. Why do people assume that everyone knew? Sopel and Boynton mentioned knowing about Aldrich's sexual preference and knowing something was up. They could not provide any details of knowing about the incident with Beach. They claim they knew that Aldrich engaged in inappropriate conduct, but that could have been the pictures he sent to another player.

And we don't know if anything was said to the captains. Maybe they discussed with with Beach and they told him to go to a coach he trusted? Maybe Beach didn't say a word. I do like how many people are going after Kane here for "what he knew."

Nothing is going to happen to the players. If Beach would have approached Keith, Seabrook or Toews with the incident and they told him to ignore it, then you have something. The fact that upper management knew about the incident a week after it happened pretty much makes the player coverup theory total bullpoop.

Be careful about pointing fingers. Given the nature of hockey culture I doubt this type of investigation ends with the current situation. There will be more investigations (over time) and additional teams will be involved. I'd like to think this was a one-off occurrence but realistically I don't think that's the case.

There's no excuse for the Hawks handling of the situation. They should have cleaned house and they did. I'm struggling to reconcile what an appropriate punishment would be for the Hawks. $2 million doesn't seem enough, but then again money doesn't help the KB and doesn't prevent it from happening again. Draft picks are an option too, but does that punish the team or the fans (who have to live with an inferior product). For me it's about HOW the team conducts business going forward and what efforts are made to repair the damage they caused and prevent it from happening again.
- DarthKane

According to capfriendly Kane is on the team as a non roster player along with stillman and Kairi. I don't think trades happen maybe at the deadline or offseason.