Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said he “was not aware” of the seriousness of the sexual assault allegations made against a former Chicago Blackhawks coach in 2010.
Cheveldayoff spoke to reporters on Tuesday to discuss the NHL’s decision not to sanction him even though his name appears in the report issued by the law firm that investigated the case. Cheveldayoff is identified as one of the Hawks’ leaders who attended a meeting to investigate the allegations and failed to act to remedy the situation afterwards.
The Jets general manager said the allegations were presented to him more as harassment than assaults and he believed procedures had been put in place within the Blackhawks organization.
Cheveldayoff added that his “assumptions about this system were clearly not good enough.”
He met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in New York on Friday to discuss his role in how in the Hawks’ mismanagement of the situation. He was absolved of any reprehensible implication.
The 51-year-old was assistant general manager and senior director of hockey operations with the Hawks at the time.
An independent firm has confirmed that Cheveldayoff was among a group of Blackhawks executives who met to discuss ex-player Kyle Beach’s allegations against video coach Brad Aldrich on May 23, 2010 , hours after the team qualified for the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 19 years.
This investigative report found that these allegations had largely been ignored by the club’s senior management.
Cheveldayoff is the only person who attended this meeting who still has a job in the NHL.