Bettman caught in an outright lie during press conference

Earlier today NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly held a joint press conference with the media to make a statement and to also take questions from reporters concerning the independent investigation of the Chicago Blackhawks that was released last week.

And to say that things went off the rails would be putting it lightly...

Bettman started the media availability with a quick apology to Kyle Beach, the former Blackhawks draft pick who has alleged that he was sexually abused by then-Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich.

"We could not be more sorry for the trauma that Kyle has had to endure," Bettman said. "And our goal is to do what is necessary to continue to move forward."

From that point on though, everything that came out of Bettman's mouth was either worthless or outright offensive. Frankly, as a hockey fan it was a total embarrassment. First off, Bettman contends that the league knew nothing about the allegations until the Blackhawks gave them a "heads up" about Beach's allegations in December, 2020. Daly contradicted Beach's statement saying that the league took no action for five months saying "there was no merit" to Beach's claims.

From there Bettman would defend the NHL's disciplinary actions which most fans feel are/were too light. Bettman dismissed the fact that the Blackhawks' fine of $2 million was not enough, despite the fact that the Arizona Coyotes were fined $3 million plus the loss of draft picks for their role in testing undrafted players. Bettman said both of those fines have "different context and different facts". So... if you're keeping score at home, asking 18 year olds to undergo fitness testing is more punishable than covering up sexual abuse. Got it.

Next Bettman defended the league's decision to allow now digraced Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville to coach last week despite the fact that the league knew about Quenneville's culpability as it relates to Beach's claims. Bettman said, he didn't want to "prejudge" Quenneville in that moment.

"I suppose people can differ on that point, but he had already coached 867 games since 2010, and I wanted to make sure that no one, including Coach Quenneville, could say that I had prejudged him," Bettman said. "Again, people can disagree on this, but I was focused on the long term, not that one game."

As for Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and why he avoided punishment, Bettman cited Cheveldayoff's "limited authority" from his time with the Blackhawks as his reasoning for essentially allowing Cheveldayoff to get off scot free.

"I do not believe he bore any responsibility for the club's failure to act appropriately," Bettman said. "There seems to be some confusion, and if I was not previously clear on that, I apologize, but there seems to be some confusion on the point of whether despite his lack of power, position or seniority, he should have felt free to speak up," Bettman said. "But because of his limited authority and circumstance, he left the meeting believing that this matter was going to be investigated by his bosses, and when Aldrich parted ways with the team, he thought that was what had happened."

Finally, when asked if the NHL will publicly commit to providing counselling to the former teenager who was abused by Aldirch, Bettman responded that he'd "need more information," before making any commitment. Um... Aldrich was convicted for assaulting the boy in 2014, what more information do you need Gary?

Oh... and if that wasn't enough, Bettman was asked about another outstanding investigation and, essentially, got caught in a lie. Bettman was asked whether or not the NHL had concluded its investigation into allegations that former NHL head coach Bill Peters had racially abused former NHLer Akim Aliu. Bettman's response? Basically... "nothing to see here, people."

Sounds good except for the fact that Aliu's managment team says it's totally untrue...

All in all this was just a terribly planned and executed press conference for Bettman and the NHL as a whole. An absolute embarrassment.