NHL commissioner Bettman ‘would be surprised’ if Hockey Canada 2018 players facing sexual assault charges play during judicial process

TORONTO – Is there a such thing as providing clarity via opaqueness? That might be the best way to describe NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly’s addressing of the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault investigation when speaking at their annual All-Star Game presser Friday afternoon. They shared what few nuggets of information they were comfortable divulging while at the same time characterizing the league as being at the mercy of the London Police investigation.

While the NHL had wrapped up its own investigation months ago, tangible progress in the process, at least on the public side, was relatively stagnant until a whirlwind of news broke over the past couple weeks. It began with Calgary flames forward Dillon Dube, a 2018 Canadian World Junior team member, taking a leave of absence “for mental health” on Jan. 21. On Jan. 23, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender and 2018 Canada team member Carter Hart took an indefinite leave of absence. By Jan. 24: London Police Services ordered five members of the 2018 World Junior team to surrender and faces charges of sexual assault. That same day, Alex Formenton took leave from HC Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss National League, then the New Jersey Devils’ Michael McLeod and Cal Foote did the same. By Jan. 28, Formenton had turned himself in, and the other four players who took leave did the same in the days that followed.

Dube, Hart, Formenton, McLeod and Foote all face charges of sexual assault, and the legal representation of each has asserted their innocence.

All these revelations came, of course, days before the NHL’s annual opportunity to showcase its best and brightest at the All-Star Game. Bettman and Daly had little choice but to address the investigation Friday. Beginning with a prepared statement, in which he described the alleged behaviors as “abhorrent, reprehensible, horrific and unacceptable,” Bettman affirmed that the league’s investigation into the 2018 incident proceeded independently of Hockey Canada’s and the London Police’s and took approximately 12 months. The league’s investigators interviewed every member of the 2018 “as well as other relevant individuals who were willing to participate in the investigation.” The alleged victim, known to the public as ‘E.M.,’ did not participate in that process, Bettman said.

As Bettman explained it, the league had concluded the investigatory process and was working with NHL Players’ Association beginning in fall 2023 to determine the next steps, and that’s when the news broke of the police ordering five players to surrender.

“We had heard similar rumors before about the posibility of charges, not one of which had come to fruition, and in this case we did not have advance notice from the London authorities,” Bettman said.

He added that the league felt it would be inappropriate to comment specifically on the matter before the judicial process wrapped up.

“This was a complicated investigation. It’s taken us about the same amount of time to get to this point as it took the London Police Service, and this was the second time they were investigating it,” Bettman said. “If you recall, the first two investigations by Hockey Canada and the London Police were, shall we say, inconclusive. So our timeline I think was appropriate and prudent under all the circumstances.”

What Bettman did clarify was the specific NHL statuses of the five players charged by the London police.

First off: there will be no immediate disciplinary action handed out to Dube, Hart, Formenton, McLeod or Foote, no movement to suspend them without pay, pending the results of the legal proceedings. As Bettman sees it, all five players “are away from their teams” already, have earned the balance of their paychecks for 2023-24 and will be free agents this summer anyway, either currently unsigned by their NHL club (Formenton) or slated to become restricted free agents. Bettman thus doesn’t see the idea of terminating contracts as necessary at this time. The players will continue to be paid for the balance of their contracts.

“As a personal matter, if I were them, I would be focusing on defending themselves, assuming the charges come down, and I would be surprised if they’re playing while this is pending,” Bettman said.

Bettman also indicated the NHL wouldn’t release the results of its own investigation before the conclusion of the judicial process to avoid interfering with it.

“What transpires in the judicial proceedings may have to some extent an impact on what we choose to do or not do,” he said.

London Police initially investigated the alleged sexual assault and closed the case without charges in 2019. However, the alleged victim filed a civil suit in court, which TSN reported in May 2022 was quietly settled by Hockey Canada for $3.55 million dollars, embroiling the organization in controversy.

According to the lawsuit, the woman met the players in a bar after the Hockey Canada Foundation & Golf event on June 18, 2018. She arrived at the bar at approximately 11:00 p.m. and met one of the players, referred to as John Doe 1, who purchased her alcoholic beverages and introduced her to his teammates, who bought her shots and other alcoholic beverages. The woman, who, according to the claim, had slurred speech, glassy eyes and a loss of balance as a result of her intoxication, was eventually separated from her friends and went to the Delta Amouries Hotel with John Doe 1.

After the woman and John Doe 1 “engaged in sexual acts,” she alleges that he invited seven additional members of the team into the hotel room without her knowledge or consent. The claim states that, in the hours that followed, John Does 1-8 engaged in several sexual acts “which collectively constituted sexual abuse and assault of the plaintiff.” The claim stated the actions of John Does 1-8 “caused terror and fear” in the woman’s mind and that she did not give consent to any of the actions because she was so intoxicated.

The claim also states that the woman was “intimidated by the number of men and the fact they brought golf clubs to the room.”

In the months that followed TSN’s report of the settlement, the Canadian government froze Hockey Canada’s funding (not restoring it until April 2023); it was reported that Hockey Canada had earmarked a fund that used registration money to pay for, among other things, settlements related to accusations of sexual assault and other forms of abuse; and a slew of major sponsors withdrew their support for Hockey Canada, from Nike to Canadian Tire to Tim Hortons and countless others. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage convened a series of parliamentary hearings demanding more information on how Hockey Canada handled claims of abuse. In the wake of the scandal, Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith and the organization’s entire board of directors resigned in October 2022.