By Canadian Press

Cheveldayoff says he was ‘not aware’ of severity of allegations until this year

Nov 2, 2021 | 4:57 PM

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff says he was “not aware” of the severity of the sexual assault allegations made in 2010 against a former Chicago Blackhawks coach until this year.

A third-party investigation by an independent law firm found Cheveldayoff was part of a group of team leaders who met to discuss allegations by former player Kyle Beach against video coach Brad Aldrich on May 23, 2010, in the hours after the team advanced to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 19 years.

Cheveldayoff spoke to reporters Tuesday to discuss the NHL’s decision to not discipline him as one of the leaders who failed to take action.

The Jets GM said the allegations were presented as harassment rather than assault, and he believed processes were in place in the Blackhawks organization to handle the allegations.

“Kyle was failed by a system that should have helped him but did not,” Cheveldayoff said. “I am sorry that my own assumptions about that system were clearly not good enough.”

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Cheveldayoff met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in New York on Friday to discuss his role in the Blackhawks’ mishandling of the allegations and was absolved of any wrongdoing.

The 51-year-old was assistant general manager and senior director of hockey operations with the Blackhawks at the time.

The report, which came in response to lawsuits by Beach and a former high school student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan after leaving the Blackhawks, found the allegations were largely ignored by management.

Cheveldayoff is the only person placed at the 2010 meeting still employed in the NHL.

Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville, who was behind Chicago’s bench from 2008 to 2018, resigned after a meeting with Bettman last week.

Blackhawks president and GM Stan Bowman stepped down following the report, while Al MacIsaac, another top hockey executive, is also no longer employed by the club.

Cheveldayoff was joined by Jets governor and co-owner Mark Chipman for the news conference Tuesday at Canada Life Centre before Winnipeg hosted the Dallas Stars.

The media availability was originally scheduled for Monday, but the Jets said Chipman suffered a bout of vertigo over the weekend and insisted on being there for the news conference.

“As we’ve seen, heard and learned, this has been a horrific week for Kyle Beach and all victims of sexual harassment and assault,” Chipman said in an emotional opening statement.

Bettman told reporters Monday during a 50-minute virtual media availability that Cheveldayoff was “such a minor player in this” and “had no responsibility for “Chicago’s mishandling of the situation.

Chipman said Cheveldayoff would have acted had he known the seriousness of Beach’s allegations.

“Kevin Cheveldayoff was abruptly pulled into a single meeting, where there was a general inquiry about inappropriate texts and verbal comments,” Chipman said. “He was told by the leadership of that organization that they would investigate it and look after it.

“He didn’t know about the harm that had been done to Kyle. He couldn’t have known.”

Cheveldayoff has been GM and executive vice-president of the Jets since the team relocated to Winnipeg from Atlanta in 2011.

Bowman gave his assistant a glowing review when he was hired by the Jets.

“(Cheveldayoff) was a significant part of our front office and he played an integral role in the success of the Blackhawks throughout the last two years,” Bowman said in a June 2011 statement. “I want to personally thank him for his dedication to our organization.”

In a statement released by the Jets in July, Cheveldayoff said he “had no knowledge of any allegations involving Mr. Aldrich until asked if I was aware of anything just prior to the conclusion of his employment with the Chicago Blackhawks.

“After confirming that I had no prior knowledge of anything, I had no further involvement.”

The report stated there was no evidence anything was done about the accusations after the May 23, 2010, meeting until then-team president John McDonough contacted the Blackhawks’ director of human resources on June 14 — a delay that violated the organization’s sexual harassment policy.

Aldrich, who has told investigators the encounter with Beach was consensual, continued to work for and travel with the team during those three weeks, celebrated the victory, eventually had his name etched on the Cup, and got a personal day with hockey’s holy grail.

Former U.S. federal prosecutor Reid Schar, who led the investigation that included 139 witnesses and resulted in the 107-page report, said last Tuesday that Aldrich also “made an unwanted sexual advance” toward a 22-year-old Blackhawks intern during that time period.

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

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2021.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press