Jets “delay” media availability for Kevin Cheveldayoff and Mark Chipman.

Say what you will about the legitimate reasons for today's decision, I suspect that this news will not be going over well with the hockey fans that are demanding accountability.

According to a breaking news report from National Hockey League insider Darren Dreger, the much anticipated press conference from Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has been delayed. Dreger reports that the decision has been made due to the fact that Winnipeg Jets owner Mark Chipman has a severe case of vertigo. Chipman was meant to attend the press conference alongside Cheveldayoff, however he is currently being treated by doctors and as a result will obviously be unavailable.

Dreger reports that Chipman insists on being at the press conference with his general manager, something that has now pushed this media availability back a day.

As I've stated already, regardless of how legitimate the reasons are, the optics of this look horrible. We now know that Cheveldayoff was in attendance at the now infamous meeting that occurred when Chicago Blackhawks upper management discussed the allegations of sexual abuse made by former NHL player Kyle Beach, allegations that pointed the finger at Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich. Everyone involved in that meeting, and the subsequent inaction that came as a result of that meeting, is now disgraced and out of a job... everyone except Cheveldayoff for some as of yet unknown reason.

There was hope that we would get some answers to that unanswered question during the Jets media availability today, but we now know this will not be the case.

I suppose the good news here is that this is only a delay and sooner rather than later both Cheveldayoff and Chipman will have to justify their decisions in front of the media. Cheveldayoff was not in a senior position with the Blackhawks at the time of the meeting, but there are legitimate questions about why he didn't speak up in the decade that followed that meeting. Those same questions will be directed at Chipman as well, for his decision to stand by his general manager throughout all of this will almost certainly come under question.