hockey's business and legal

Hockey’s Business and Legal Updates March 18-24 with More Chicago Blackhawks Issues

Alec Roberson

It’s that time again when we take a look at what’s been happening in hockey’s business and legal world. Once a week we cover the big and not so big stories in this arena. We also include a featured story of the period. Let’s take a look at what has been happening this period.

Hockey’s Business and Legal News

BioSteel Will No Longer Be the Official Sports Drink of the NHL

After the NHL switched over to BioSteel from Gatorade a few years ago, it looks like they will be pivoting again. It was announced the reportedly this will be the last year that BioSteel will be the official hydration partner for the NHL. The expectation is for BodyArmor to take over in that role. This is not a complete surprise as BioSteel has recently had some issues financially. More to come on this.

Former Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hockey Player Suing for Sexual Abuse

In yet another example of people coming forward in hockey alleging sexual abuse, a former student and hockey player at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a notable prep school in Saskatchewan for developing hockey talent, filed a sexual abuse suit against the school. He played there in the late 80s but generally speaking sexual abuse claims don’t have statute of limitations. It is noteworthy that the student, Jason Duckworth, wanted his name published to encourage others to come forward.

Unfortunately, the sexual abuse, hazing, discrimination and other similar incidents are not immune to any level of hockey and this shows yet another example. While the power struggle still remains, it is an important shift in focus as those in leadership positions start looking at actually developing athletes as people and not as tools for their own gain.

Updates from NHL GMs Meeting

Following the NHL General Managers meeting this week, a few notable items came out. Not everything is certain yet but some interesting items came out affecting hockey’s business and legal sides. For starters, the NHL has signed off on doing an Amazon series following 10-12 players for a behind-the-scenes look. As streaming platforms continue to rise, this could be a big marketing item for the league.

The latest projection for hockey related revenue this year is $6.2 billion. Keep in mind that hockey related revenue directly affects the salary cap.

Nothing too new was updated on the Arizona Coyotes except that they are still pursuing a new arena and that the team will likely remain in Arizona for next year at least regardless.

And while there were some more items from this meeting like rule changes, notes about LTIR and such, the last item that came out was the NHL still holding onto their position that concussions do not conclusively cause CTE. The timing here was interesting considering the shocking sad news of the suicide of former NHLer Chris Simon.

USA Hockey Looking for More Control on Handling Abuse Allegations and Misconduct

USA Hockey’s executive director Pat Kelleher testified before the United States Senate that USA Hockey wants the US Center for SafeSport to only have jurisdiction over “the most egregious” misconduct complaints. Instead, they want USA Hockey and local organizations to have more control over handling the majority of those complaints. Meanwhile, USA Hockey does not publicly disclose the number of historical sexual assault claims made or settlements paid for such claims against it or its members.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport is a nonprofit organization responsible for investigating and making recommendations on sexual abuse and other abuse claims in sports. While it cannot impose criminal fines or imprisonment, it can forward its investigations to federal or state courts and can impose certain sanctions preventing participation in certain events. Notably, it also maintains a public list of individuals sanctioned which is one key difference than USA Hockey. We will see how this progresses.

Updates on Tucker Tynan’s Lawsuit against Sault Ste. Marie

In a previous hockey’s business and legal updates article we discussed that former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds goalie Tucker Tynan sued the team for allegedly requiring him to play injured and racial harassment. Now, Tynan has amended his complaint to include that the Greyhounds knew he was injured when they traded for him. He also provided that the Greyhounds said his OHL School Package would be terminated if he didn’t play. The lawsuit is still in process and all the claims are alleged at this point.

Hockey’s Business and Legal Updates Featured Story: Chicago Blackhawks Motion to Dismiss Negligence Suit Denied

In this period’s hockey’s business and legal updates featured story we look at the Chicago Blackhawks. After Kyle Beach came out with abuse allegations against former Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich, a second individual came forward and filed a suit against the team and Aldrich. Specifically he filed a lawsuit for institutional negligence on the part of the Blackhawks. We covered this in a previous hockey’s business and legal updates article here.

The Blackhawks moved to dismiss this negligence claim claiming it wasn’t timely under Illinois statute of limitations for personal injury suits. The individual’s lawyers argued it was timely because the extent of the Blackhawks handling of the abuse situations were only made evident recently. A state judge in Ilinois has denied the Blackhawks motion to dismiss and therefore this case will proceed. It may end in a settlement like Beach’s did, but this story is still ongoing as of now.

Post image attribution: Derek Kaczmarczyk, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alec Roberson

Alec Roberson grew up in coastal North Carolina, taking a somewhat unconventional path to hockey. With hockey being almost nonexistent in that area, Alec found his passion for the game following the success of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2001 and 2006 and later played club hockey in college. After going through law school and practicing for some time, he now continues his love for the game through writing. Find him on twitter @roberson_alec

Related Posts

Hockey's Business and Legal

Hockey’s Business and Legal Bi-Monthly Highlights July 16 Through July 31 Featuring More Troubles for Alex Galchenyuk

Alec Roberson
Joel Ward took a different route to hockey, showing true team player development.

Being A Team Player – Personal and Player Development

Mikhail Bryan
Coaches can give multiple types of praise, character praise may be more effective.

Selecting Your Praise for Effective Player Development

Mikhail Bryan