Blackhawks wrap up 2nd lawsuit from player over alleged abuse from Brad Aldrich.

The darkest chapter in the history of the Chicago Blackhawks has finally come to a close, at least for the time being.

On Saturday, Blackhawks insiders Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers broke the news that the team had reached a last minute settlement with an unnamed former player who was suing the Blackhawks organization over alleged abuse from former video coach Brad Aldrich.

The scandal, which mirrors the high profile Kyle Beach scandal that irreparably damaged the franchise's reputation, stems from the Blackhawks response to the accusations which were made by the players about Aldrich's conduct while with the Blackhawks organization.

The Blackhawks have issued the following statement after the settlement:

"We acknowledge the case has been settled and will have no further comment on the matter," said the team in a statement.

The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed but the details of how all this played out suggest that the Blackhawks likely paid a hefty sum to make this problem go away. The unamed player, refered to as "John Doe" in court documents, initially sued the team in 2023 but was about to finally get his day in court this year. After the Blackhawks motion for a summary judgement in June was denied by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Barbara Flores, a trial date was set for October 27th but, as a result of this settlement, this case will never go to trial.

The Blackhawks will no doubt be happy to move on from this terrible chapter in their history, but who knows if this truly marks the end? Two players have already come forward with accusations against Aldrich and there could be more who have yet to speak out.