NHL announces the fates of Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman

There is major breaking news out of the National Hockey League, as it has just been announced that disgraced former Chicago Blackhawks general manager and head coach Joel Quenneville have officially been reinstated and can now seek re-employment. Additionally, former Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Al MacIsaac can do the same. 

The official press statement reads as follows: 

"The National Hockey League today announced that, effective immediately Stan Bowman, Al Maclsaac and Joel Quenneville are eligible to seek employment in the NHL. For more than the last two and a half years, these individuals have been ineligible to work for any NHL team as a result of their inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Blackhawks' Player, Kyle Beach, had been assaulted by the Club's video coach.

While it is clear that, at the time, their responses were unacceptable, each of these three individuals (Messrs. Bowman, Maclsaac and Quenneville) has acknowledged that and used his time away from the game to engage in activities which, not only demonstrate sincere remorse for what happened, but also evidence greater awareness of the responsibilities that all NHL personnel have, particularly personnel who are in positions of leadership. Moreover, each has made significant strides in personal improvemen by participating in myriad programs, many of which focused on the imperative of responding in effective and meaningful ways to address alleged acts of abuse. The League expects that they will continue this commitment in any future capacity with the NHL and/or one of our Clubs.

While Clubs are free to discuss potential employment opportunities with Messrs. Bowman, Maclsaac anc Quenneville effective immediately, they will not be permitted to enter into new employment relationships with any of these individuals until on or after Wednesday, July 10, 2024." 

As you may remember, Beach, a former 11th overall pick of the Blackhawks in 2008, alleges that the team’s former video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted him during the 2010 season. Beach said that the abuse he suffered was an open secret in the locker room, and that the team's veteran players (including Hossa, Sharp, Seabrook, and others) knew and did nothing. Furthermore Beach contends that he notified then Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville of the alleged abuse and neither took action.

Bowman resigned his position as GM and Quenneville, who was with the Florida Panthers organization most recently, was effectively forced to resign as a result of these findings.

Do you believe they deserve a second chance in the NHL after their stunning failure to protect one of their players because the timing was too inconvenient?

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