Five members from Canada’s 2018 world junior team (Hart, McLeod, Dube, Foote and Formenton) told to surrender to police, facing sexual assault charges

[swiftwin]

Cuts both ways. The poor shlub who doesn't have the resources to investigate or mount a legit defence could also just get railroaded by the "system" the other way. Yes , lady justice should be blind - in theory. Western legal systems are awful except for every other system in the world.

Whoooooosh....

I'm making a joke that said redacted player is a goaltender that is already used to not having a defense in front of him.

 

[lakeshirts37]

Players shouldn’t have their livelihoods ruined if they serve their time for their crimes.

It’s not a right to play in the NHL - their livelihoods will not be ruined. They will be able to find employment, but likely not in the NHL.

 

[Melrose Munch]

I don't. I was on a hockey trip with my team up to Edmonton when we were 16-18 years old. We met a few girls in the food court of the West Edmonton Mall and they came up to our room in the hotel in there. One of them, when asked what they do around there (we weren't the best conversationalists), said they drank and ****ed. Another one asked if we had any alcohol and I asked how old they were. One said 14 and we told them to GTFO of the room immediately.

Basically, you know when something isn't right or you don't care. I get that being told yes all the time when you're a high level athlete as a kid makes it harder to reign in bad behavior, but this isn't just that. I can't think of a time I ever did something wrong when I was a kid where I didn't know it was wrong. You just think you'll get away with it.

Mega props, this is how you handle this.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Players shouldn’t have their livelihoods ruined if they serve their time for their crimes.

They shouldnt if they added value as a doctor or engineer. But they are entertainers/public figures, their value is highly dependent on how they make the team look and if their fans want them. Realistically, even if they are not banned, most teams wont sign them. NHL teams have no obligation to give them a second chance.

 

[John Mandalorian]

For now at least. One of the 5 could potentially leak stuff for a lighter punishment

Or if you want to be more cynical, they could make things up.

 

[swiftwin]

None of this justified what happened.

You're admitting these people's parents are not great by any stretch of the imagination.

Now we're blaming the parents of the kid that didn't participate in the assault?

 

[Zirakzigil]

Seems like it'd be more effective to shell out a few bucks for a small ad, which would then cover everyone's screen for the next few weeks.

(I kid because the ads are frustrating as hell, folks. I can empathize!)

 

[sepster]

Based on how a lot of those posts go, it might be helpful to sticky a definition of "speculation" at the top of each page.

Or... people could just be allowed the freedom to talk.

 

[Voight]

Maybe don’t have sexual intercourse with an unconscious person. Cant imagine what was going through their minds when they did it. They’re all younger than me by three years, consent was a big part of our sexual education classes

I just don't understand how people can think that's ok. Let alone these guys who could likely pull in any bar they go to.

 

[Zirakzigil]

View attachment 809493

This is why we have spare light blues

 

[Empoleon8771]

They shouldnt if they added value as a doctor or engineer. But they are entertainers/public figures, their value is highly dependent on how they make the team look and if their fans want them. Realistically, even if they are not banned, most teams wont sign them. NHL teams have no obligation to give them a second chance.

I don’t disagree with this at all. They aren’t owed a NHL contract whatsoever, I just don’t think banning them from a league wide level makes any sense.

Let teams decide if they’re worth the backlash they come with. They likely will decide against it because they won’t be good enough after serving time. I just don’t think officially banning them is fair.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Craig MacTavish killed a woman and was allowed to have a long career.

Craig MacTavish served a year in jail for that, missing the entire 1984-85 season. And, he stated he was in a "human warehouse" with a 5' x 8' cell that had no plumbing, and commented that where he served 3 months of his sentence "is the biggest deterrent I've ever seen." And, maybe more critically, he was incredibly sorry for what happened and talked to the victim's family about it while in jail. Let's not pretend he got a weekend at the local country club and a nasty finger-wagging for it, while getting paid the entire time.

Feel free to juxtapose that against what's happened here.

 

[leafsfan5]

Seems like a quiet day in the NHL world

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Pro tip: if you're starting your post with "Not speculating, but...", I'd recommend carefully reviewing what follows the ellipses.

It's the thread equivalent of "No offense, but...".

"I'm ... asking for a friend."
"But ... I mean it in the nicest way possible."

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

It’s pathetic how many people just want these guys locked away forever without a fair trial

 

[Green Xero]

So, you guys think the Salt Lake City news was a smokescreen to distract from this coverage?

Other way around. The leave of absences are Bettmans way of distracting people from noticing he's bringing in another team to a league that's already watered down and should just move or fold a couple they already have. Looking at you Coyotes. Lol...

 

[Voight]

Craig MacTavish served a year in jail for that, missing the entire 1984-85 season. And, he stated he was in a "human warehouse" with a 5' x 8' cell that had no plumbing, and commented that where he served 3 months of his sentence "is the biggest deterrent I've ever seen." And, maybe more critically, he was incredibly sorry for what happened and talked to the victim's family about it. Let's not pretend he got a weekend at the local country club and a nasty finger-wagging for it, while getting paid the entire time.

Feel free to juxtapose that against what's happened here.

Yes and if these 5 players are found guilty & pay their debt to society, they should be allowed to play.

I wasn't trying to say MacTavish got away easy. M y point was, he did his time and was allowed to play again. Why can't these 5 guys?

 

[93LEAFS]

I bet Cale Makar is thanking himself every day that he is not involved in this shit show.

If this goes to trial a ton of players on that could be called as witnesses even if they weren't in that room since it started with most of the team drinking at Jack's in London and then led back to the Armory. If this drags through a trial, it could be incredibly messy.

Some players didn't attend the event. For example Victor Mete was on a family vacation.

 

[MuckOG]

Fair... But either way, they did do wrong and it was pretty disgusting.

They are accused of doing wrong. If the allegations bear themselves out and its proven they participated in this, then they have a lot more important issues to deal with other than just hoping to play in the NHL again. They could have a lengthy jail sentence ahead of them.

But being accused of a crime does not equate to being guilty of a crime. They have the presumption of innocence like anyone else accused of a crime. It's best that the NHL just let this thing play itself out before making any determinations about their NHL futures.

 

[Voight]

^ the 30 for 30 Producers right now.

 

[Sigh]

Craig MacTavish served a year in jail for that, missing the entire 1984-85 season. And, he stated he was in a "human warehouse" with a 5' x 8' cell that had no plumbing, and commented that where he served 3 months of his sentence "is the biggest deterrent I've ever seen." And, maybe more critically, he was incredibly sorry for what happened and talked to the victim's family about it while in jail. Let's not pretend he got a weekend at the local country club and a nasty finger-wagging for it, while getting paid the entire time.

Feel free to juxtapose that against what's happened here.

Also, society was much more lax regarding drunk driving back then.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Other way around. The leave of absences are Bettmans way of distracting people from noticing he's bringing in another team to a league that's already watered down and should just move or fold a couple they already have. Looking at you Coyotes. Lol...

League needs to stay at 32. Unless the NFL goes beyond 32, there's zero reason for any other major pro league to go beyond that threshold. Coyotes are fine where they are if they get the new arena soon. SLC makes zero sense based on small market size and competing winter pro sports league (NBA).

 

[Soundwave]

10 minutes is a really long time, until that's the ice time their favourite player gets in a game. Then, they barely touched the ice.

"Your honor, in my defense, the pizza was really, really good, it may be the best pizza I've ever had. I'd like to submit this extra large deluxe pizza for evidence ..."

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Yes and if these 5 players are found guilty & pay their debt to society, they should be allowed to play.

I wasn't trying to say MacTavish got away easy. M y point was, he did his time and was allowed to play again. Why can't these 5 guys?

Oh, got it.

I don't disagree outright, but I also think there are probably some things where, even if you "pay your debt to society" you've forfeited the right to stuff just from the broken trust that came with the act. But, that's a long discussion for another thread, on another site, and we're a long way away from getting to that intersection.

 

[dirtydanglez]

Or... people could just be allowed the freedom to talk.

you can on your own website.