Capitals coach placed on leave because of NHL investigation.

A shocking development has just hit the National Hockey League news cycle.

In an official announcement from the Washington Capitals department of public relations, the team has announced that assistant coach Mitch Love has been placed on leave effective immediately.

What makes this announcement particularly interesting is the fact that the Capitals themselves are reporting that this stems from an NHL investigation which appears to still be ongoing. According to the Capitals, Love will be on leave pending the results of that investigation with the team adding that they will be issuing no further comment until the NHL has concluded the investigation.

Love has achieved considerable success behind the bench and has become a well respected figure around the National Hockey League as a result. After just two seasons as an assistant coach with the Capitals he was already receiving consideration for high profile head coaching jobs, most notably with the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken earlier this year.

Love is a two time coach of the year winner in the American Hockey League and is considered to be one of the sharpest defensive minds in coaching today.

It is hard to speculate on what this investigation could be about given the vague nature of this announcement.

Update: I now have additional details regarding the investigation.

NHL insider David Pagnotta is now reporting that the investigation is related to a matter that occurred while Love was being interviewed for potential head coaching jobs around the NHL, although it remains unclear which team he was interviewing with at the time of the incident.

Update 2: ESPN's Greg Wyshynski is reporting that the teams interviewing Love this summer received a letter detailing an incident that predates his time with the Capitals, and that this letter is what has led to the NHL launching their investigation into Love.

I will continue to update this story as more information because available. Stay tuned for additional details on this rapidly developing story.