Let me start this by saying that I’ve read everything that there is to read on this and I’ll admit that in this country, we do believe in innocent till proven guilty.

That being said, I genuinely hope that bowman and co. have the book thrown flush at them. Let’s consider what is undisputed. Aldrich did work for the team and was given a letter of reference to work in Michigan for a high school team. He proceeds to sexually assault a kid and serves 9 months in prison, five years probation, and is a registered offender. This, and this alone, absolutely guts me. I truly hope we get the full story with the John Doe, but for now I can only focus on what’s there. Plenty of witnesses working for the team at the time have testified that this did happen, so it’s not like we’re hearing outsider prospective. This is all without mentioning other incidents of attempted sexual assault as well.

Now let me really open this up. This franchise, given the facts that are already proven, is an absolute disgrace. They have enabled a predator to change a kid’s life forever and potentially could have been others. But that’s just the tip of the problem. The Chicago Blackhawks franchise, for better or for worse, are a poison. Allow me to explain. This happened at the beginning of the boom period yes? But John McD and Stan Bowman, two men who NOTHING to do with the franchise’s upswing, always knew they wouldn't let anything stand between them and the spotlight. They didn’t draft the core but certainly soaked up the attention. Let’s see the history: Kane assaults a cabbie in 2009, kane chokes a girl and goes anti-Semitic (allegedly) in 2012 in Madison, kane has his rape case, and finally Garrett Ross is allowed to play for the minor league affiliate cuz he beat rape on a technicality. Each of these cases were handled by McD in such a way that deflected attention away from the hawks and the players. Sure, the legal acquitted kane and Ross in the latter two cases, but not without controversy attached. What makes this all worse though, is the way hawks used their status to their advantage. I still remember training camp 2015 when McD listed Kane’s accomplishments before even addressing the matter at hand. Disgusting.

You see, the hawks were the NHL’s darlings. They made money for the league, increased popularity, and did everything that a successful franchise should do for the image of their sport. Gary Bettman was enamored with them. The NHL couldn’t afford for them to fail. But then they did anyway. So now, the NHL has decided not to pursue their own investigation. Guess they still need the money more than morals yes? After all, you never hear about drew doughty’s allegations of sexual assault when the kings took off do you? Slava at least got what he deserved. But the hawks, surely, are too big and influential to be taken down by this yes?

Let me finish this by returning to the beginning of this thread. Simply put: the hawks are a team of arrogance. A team of greed. A team that flat out enabled. If the in house stuff ends up being true as well, I hope the higher ups all go to court and prison. Never in all my fandom have I felt so let down by my team. I feel so hallow in my support for this team now. They sacrificed integrity so they could succeed in a boom period. They destroyed lives in the process. That, simply put, is unforgivable. The hawks have become a poison chalice and if this all truly becomes the real deal, they’ll never recover, and they never should.

I’m sorry if I’ve come off as harsh and over the top, but please understand this has been absolutely horrifying to have to read about. Please share your thoughts if you’re willing to, I know this story is far from over, but I truly hope everyone gets what they deserve, be it acquittal or conviction.

Chicago has been a mess lately and it bothers me quite a bit

There's actually even more "controversial" items that you didn't mention. The stripper song that went on for years, The controversial logo, Standing by Marc Crawford, etc... For the record...on the logo I'm personally fine with changing the logo, but keeping the name. I do think the organization has done a pretty good job with recognition and honoring chief Black Hawk and the Sauk Tribe...with that said, they can always do more and i hope they do increase that cultural acknowledgment awareness. Also, with Marc Crawford, I do believe in second chances. He seems to have the players with him and supporting him.

Anyway, when it comes to this specific instance. I want to get all the information. We need the FBI (or equivalent) to seriously find out what happened and why this wasn't reported. There are too many "he said, she said" items out there. Marc Bergevin says he knew nothing. Paul Vincent says everyone knew. It's not possible to be both, but it's probably a good start to go subpoena Paul Vincent for information. Saying "Everyone Knew" and other coaches not agreeing with that sentiment...is VERY odd. It makes me think he might be the one that didn't try very hard to report this. From my point of view, the investigation needs to find out where the buck stopped exactly and which person (or group of people) failed in their duties. If it was incompetency vs choosing to be neglectful...that intent matters to me on whether jail time is warranted. If this goes all the way up to Rocky...I would be in favor of the NHL forcing a sale of the team much like the NBA did with the Clippers.

On the other end of the spectrum though...I tend to NOT have a scorched earth policy. Meaning, I don't blame the ticket sales man. I don't blame the beer vender. (Obviously a bit of an exaggeration to expand on that point) There is someone (or group) responsible for this. Did Aldrich's direct boss keep the intel to himself? Did his direct boss report the problem and try to actively fix this situation so that no one else needed to put up with Aldrich? I simply don't have those answers. If Aldrich's direct boss truly did everything in his power...I'm probably not blaming him either. It all depends on what actually comes out. I'm not typically the person that thinks Coach Q should be fired from the Panthers unless he's found to be part of a cover up. Same goes for Marc Bergevin. He's publicly said that he had no idea that was going on. An investigation needs to occur to find out if that's true.

As a side, I'm curious if this is why John McDonough was fired. These allegations aren't exactly new. We're just seeing more people come forward and say that they were aware of this issues.

This offseason might be like Arizona’s 2020 offseason but more chaotic