Questions about sex-assault allegations from ex-Blackhawk hit Stanley Cup media day

At a time when the NHL would very much like the focus to be on the Stanley Cup final, at least part of the attention paid to the league is over its handling of an alleged sex-assault case involving the Chicago Blackhawks.

Reporting from TSN and a Chicago public radio station has shed light on an allegation by an unidentified former Blackhawks player, who says in a lawsuit against the team that a then-assistant coach sexually assaulted him in 2010 during a playoff run to a Stanley Cup title and that the team did nothing after he informed a now-retired employee.

Questions about the allegations poured over to Stanley Cup media day for Marc Bergevin, the general manager of finalists Montreal Canadiens but who was in 2010 the director of player personnel for the Chicago Blackhawks.

“There was a meeting that I heard of that was done in Chicago, but I was not part of any meeting, I was not part of any decision based on that,” said Bergevin. “I was not aware of what was going on at the time. You can go on the record with that.”

So far, the NHL has not released any statements, but commissioner Gary Bettman is scheduled to have a news conference on Monday prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final between Montreal and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

At issue is how the Blackhawks handled the allegations.

The former player who sued and is seeking more than $150,000 in damages is referred in the document as “John Doe.” The lawsuit, filed on May 7 in Cook County Circuit Court, says former assistant coach Bradley Aldrich also assaulted another unidentified Blackhawks player.

TSN has reported that two Blackhawks players told then-skills coach Paul Vincent in May 2010 of inappropriate behaviour by Aldrich. Vincent told TSN that he told team executives, including team president John McDonough and general manager Stan Bowman, to report the allegations to Chicago police but that his request was rejected.

After leaving the Blackhawks, Aldrich was convicted in 2013 in Michigan of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a student and is now on that state’s registry of sex offenders, Chicago public radio station WBEZ reported.

Inaction by the Blackhawks enabled Aldrich to go on and assault the Michigan student, and possibly others, alleged Susan Loggans, the former player’s attorney.

An attorney for Aldrich told WBEZ that his client denies the allegations in the lawsuit. In a May statement to the radio station, the Blackhawks said the allegations directed at the organization were groundless.