What’s The Use Of Insiders If They Only Scoop Press Releases?

For almost three years, former Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, former GM Stan Bowman, and former assistant GM Al MacIsaac were banned from the NHL due to their lack of response after being informed during the 2010 playoffs about allegations of then–video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulting player Kyle Beach. But after the announcement on July 1 that reinstated their eligibility to seek employment in the league, the three men were officially on the market as of two days ago.

The day came and went without news. There had been rumors floating around about Bowman or Quenneville being considered as candidates for some open positions around the league, but nothing that seemed too concrete or realistic. Perhaps the story would have eventually slipped away into the public subconscious like so many previous scandals—likely the NHL’s hope since it chose the first day of free-agency frenzy to announce the reinstatements. But then I came across this thread from Chris Johnston, a writer and NHL insider for The Athletic and TSN.

Upon first read, I saw the words “the NHL detailed what they’d done during their nearly three years on the sidelines,” and I thought to myself, Oh? An update? In the NHL’s July 1 press release on the reinstatement, there had been mention of the former Blackhawks staffers “participating in myriad programs” on how to effectively respond to acts of abuse. Immediately, the public began to prod. People wanted the details. “Myriad” means a lot; surely at least one of these programs could be named.

However, the screenshot attached to Johnston’s tweet reveals that he’s not actually providing any new information. He just pulled a paragraph from the 10-day-old NHL statement. I don’t know about you, but in no universe would I use the word “detailed” to describe the contents of that statement.

Perhaps I was being too harsh. In the nearly two weeks since July 1, surely somebody had dug up or announced concrete examples of the ways Quenneville and crew had tried to make amends and learn how to better address in-house misconduct allegations? Surely. After searching around, the most I could find was in this article from The Athletic’s senior writer Mark Lazerus, who mentions that the three had spoken with “forces for positive change in the NHL, such as Respect Group founder Sheldon Kennedy and LGBTQ+ activist Brock McGillis.”

The rest of the hockey scoopsters, as they continue to break details of free-agent contacts, have either settled for passing along the league’s official statements, or ignoring the story completely. It’s darkly funny to me that these insiders, who pride themselves on knowing all the teams listed on Jacob Trouba’s no-trade clause, have given us so little information on this story, despite being plugged in with people who might actually be able to provide it. I know Elliotte Friedman has Joel Quenneville’s agent on speed dial.

But that’s not what “insiders” do. They get heated at signings, battling to break the news before each other, but in the face of real stories and the chance to push the league for accountability, they go quiet. I know all the reasons for this—they want to maintain relationships, and it’s easier and more profitable to be a scoopster than an investigative reporter—I’m not naïve. But I’m also not naïve for thinking it shouldn’t be like this.

Even if some sort of comprehensive feature is published in the future, perhaps after one of these former Blackhawks is hired, those answers will be late, and serve more as PR for the men and their new employer than as journalism. This reinstatement didn’t come out of nowhere, and it’s implied in Lazerus’s article that this outcome is the result of a gradual repair in relations with the league. If these men have indeed worked hard for years to become better people, shouldn’t they be proud and eager for fans to know about the work they put in? For all the times we get peeks “behind the scenes,” everything about this story, from the league’s announcement to the lack of follow-up, feels like a deliberate choice to minimize its air time, and thus less room to criticize the league when it’s warranted.