"Kept teams in the dark" - NHL insider claims teams were oblivious to Hockey Canada investigation

In a shocking revelation, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman shed light on the Hockey Canada scandal. He claimed that teams, including the Calgary Flames, were unaware of the details of the investigations conducted by the NHL.

The revelation came during Friedman's discussion on the 32 Thoughts podcast. He disclosed that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed the league's decision to keep teams oblivious to the unfolding scandal.

Friedman said,

"Bettman did confirm that, which is that they kept the teams in the dark about what they learned ... I know that bothered teams, it bothered some of the teams a great deal."

Last week, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote took indefinite leaves from their respective teams.

Friedman detailed how the lack of information impacted teams, particularly referencing Calgary. He revealed,

"They allowed Dube a mental leave, and then two days later, Carter Hart goes on mental leave, and we start to realize what's happening. The Flames took a lot of criticism for it, but based on what Bettman said, it's pretty obvious here that the Calgary Flames did not know how close, or how even more serious, this situation had become."

The Flames faced heavy criticism from fans last week for allowing Dube to take a leave of absence. They were unaware of the undisclosed details of the broader investigation.

Elliotte Friedman on NHL and Hockey Canada

Elliotte Friedman also explained the NHL and Hockey Canada's decision to withhold the findings of their investigation from the teams. Friedman said,

"One of the rumors going around about the NHL report and the Hockey Canada report is that the NHL and Hockey Canada were both worried that, if they released their reports prior to the conclusion of the legal process, that they were worried about significant lawsuits."

"And everything that Bettman said in that media conference made me believe that is 100% true, that there is no way they could bring anything out until they knew what the legal process said."

"I know that's not gonna make a lot of people happy or satisfy them, but I'm not surprised in the least bit. You're not going to expose yourself to any legal damage... so that's why I believe these reports are still under lock and key"

The London police initiated their investigation on Hockey Canada in 2022. This was following the resolution of a lawsuit between the organization and a woman who alleged that eight team members sexually assaulted her after a fundraising gala.