WINNIPEG, MANITOBA – JULY 23: Winnipeg Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff speaks to members of the media via a Zoom call at the end of the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft at Canada Life Centre on July 23, 2021 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The 2021 NHL Draft was held virtually due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
Former Chicago Blackhawks assistant general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will not be penalized by the NHL for his role in the club’s mishandling of sexual assault allegations made by a player in 2010.
Commissioner Gary Bettman met with Cheveldayoff, now GM of the Winnipeg Jets, on Friday morning. He concluded based on that conversation and the team's investigation that Cheveldayoff was not responsible for what was decided 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."
Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville each resigned this week. Quenneville was with the Blackhawks when the accusations were first reported to team leadership.
Cheveldayoff is the only person who was present in a meeting about Kyle Beach's allegations against video coach Brad Aldrich to still be working in the NHL.
Bettman said Cheveldayoff's status as a low-ranking team official and his limited role in that meeting absolved him of authority to address the allegations.
Cheveldayoff expressed his “support and empathy” for Beach in a statement issued by the Jets.
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“He was incredibly brave coming forward to tell his story,” Cheveldayoff said. "We can all use his courage as an inspiration to do a better job of making hockey a safer place for anyone who wants to play the game.
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