NEWSLETTER
According to a report from TSN’s Rick Westhead, former Chicago Blackhawk Nick Boynton named three prominent players, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and Brian Campbell, as examples of players who had knowledge of the May 2010 incidents involving former video coach Brad Aldrich and unnamed former players. Those incidents have been laid out in a lawsuit against the organization that is currently under investigation.
In his interview with Jenner and Block, the law firm in charge of the “independent review” of the allegations against Aldrich and the Blackhawks, Boynton says he was told of the incidents from former teammate Jake Dowell, and that “basically everybody” on the team knew about what had happened.
From Westhead’s report:
Boynton, who played seven games with the Blackhawks in the 2009-10 championship season and 41 games with the team the following year, said in his Zoom interview that many of Chicago’s top stars knew about the abuse, based on their conversations in the locker room.
“They asked me who knew and I gave them names, basically everybody on the team,” Boynton told TSN in an interview on Wednesday. “I said everybody f—ing knew about it. I said you can talk to the coaches. …I said talk to Torch [former assistant coach John Torchetti]. I called out Brian Campbell, and said talk to Patrick Sharp and talk to Kaner [Patrick Kane]. …The training staff knew. I’m sick of this wall of silence.”
Dowell disputes Boynton’s recollection of the incidents, saying, “It’s foggy to me. I remember after Brad was let go after 2010 we started to hear some rumblings, but I don’t know how much truth there was to it,” according to Westhead’s report.
This new take from Boynton goes along with what he and former Blackhawk teammate Brent Sopel has said recently, regarding the scope of what players, coaches, and other members of the front office knew about the allegations against Aldrich at the time.
We have heard very little from current players from that 2010 team including Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, though Toews did touch on the incidents and allegations when he announced his return to the club earlier this summer. We have also heard from former head coach Joel Quenneville, as well as former front office members Marc Bergevin and Kevin Cheveldayoff, all saying they had no knowledge of the incidents or allegations involving Aldrich while they were with the Blackhawks. Blackhawks President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Stan Bowman has also addressed the investigations in the form of a prepared statement last week prior to the NHL Draft.
The hope of many, including Boynton, is that the findings from the “independent review” being done by Jenner and Block will be made public, although there is still no indication if that will be the case.
More from Westhead’s report:
Boynton said investigators “sounded disgusted” by what he told them and said he’s hopeful that the Chicago law firm won’t whitewash the investigation.
“It sounds like they are going to do the best job they can do,” Boynton said. “I got a good feeling from them and I like to hope they do what they’re supposed to.”
Westhead has also said that not all members of the 2009-10 team have yet been contacted regarding the investigation, but that at least one former player and one former coach have stated they will not cooperate with the investigation unless the findings by Jenner and Block are made public.
As Westhead states in his report, “There is no industry standard for disclosing independent investigation results.”
We will continue to follow this story and keep you up to date on the developments as more information becomes known.
