Chicago asks Hockey Hall of Fame to cover assistant’s name on Stanley Cup | CBC Sports

“I am humbly requesting that the Hockey Hall of Fame consider `x-ing’ out his name on the Stanley Cup,” Wirtz wrote. “While nothing can undo what he did, leaving his name on the most prestigious trophy in sports seems profoundly wrong.”

“That decision, among others, reflects the Cup’s storied history of engraving mistakes, misspellings and errors that have ended up enshrined in silver, or been corrected after the fact,” Wirtz writes.

McDonald spoke with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Friday about Wirtz’s letter, according to a statement from the Hall.

“The parties agree that this request is appropriate and that they will have further dialogue, including with the Stanley Cup trustees, on how best to effectuate this request,” the statement read.

Shattered reputation

ESPN first reported on the letter. A message was left Friday by the AP seeking comment from the Hall of Fame.

Wirtz and Chicago are picking up the pieces of the franchise’s shattered reputation after it released a report Tuesday detailing how the team’s senior leaders badly mishandled the allegations against Aldrich more than a decade ago.

The independent review by a law firm was commissioned by the team in response to two lawsuits filed against the franchise: one by former first-round pick Kyle Beach alleging sexual assault by Aldrich in 2010, and another filed by a former high school student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan.

Rocky Wirtz said Tuesday that he and Danny Wirtz, his son and the team’s CEO, were first made aware of the accusations ahead of the May filing of Beach’s lawsuit, an assertion by the owner that also was supported by the report from Jenner & Block.

The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly. Beach spoke with TSN on Wednesday and posted a statement on Twitter on Thursday expressing gratitude for the support he had received in the past couple days.

Beach to meet Bettman, NHLPA leader Saturday

Beach is slated to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr, the leader of the NHL players’ association, via separate Zoom calls on Saturday. Susan Loggans, an attorney representing Beach in his lawsuit, said Fehr’s time has been confirmed, and they were still working to finalize the schedule for the Bettman meeting.

WATCH | Sheldon Kennedy calls on league to make systemic changes:

Sheldon Kennedy calls on NHL leadership to make systemic changes

Sheldon Kennedy, the former NHL player, sexual abuse survivor and advocate for those who have been sexually abused, joined CBC Morning Live host Heather Hiscox to discuss changes that need to be made in the wake of the 2010 sexual abuse allegations involving Chicago’s NHL team. 13:06

Loggans said Bettman and Fehr each contacted her asking to meet with Beach.

“Kyle’s reaction was that he’s glad that they are paying attention to what he brought to their attention 10 years ago,” Loggans told the AP. “So he’s very anxious to hear what they have to say.”

According to Chicago’s report, Fehr was contacted twice about allegations connected to Aldrich, including by a Beach confidant. Fehr told investigators he couldn’t recall either conversation, but did not deny that they had occurred.

Fehr said Wednesday night in a statement that there was “no doubt” that the system had failed Beach and “we are part of that system.”

Stan Bowman, Chicago’s general manager and president of hockey operations, resigned in the wake of the report, and Chicago announced that Al MacIsaac, another one of the team’s top hockey executives, was no longer with the organization.

The NHL fined the team $2 million US for “the organization’s inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response.”

Bowman, Quenneville resign

The consequences of what Chicago did in 2010 — specifically a three-week period during the playoffs when they failed to act on Beach’s allegations, allowing Aldrich to remain around the team while it celebrated the championship — reverberated throughout the NHL this week.

Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday and then resigned. Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff talked to Bettman on Friday, and the league announced that Cheveldayoff would not be disciplined.

Quenneville and Cheveldayoff were with Chicago when Beach’s accusations were first reported to team leadership. Aldrich has told investigators the encounter was consensual.