Speculation: The search for a new Head Coach - Rumors and Speculation

I remember feeling like part of why Chicago beat us in the playoffs was that we were out coached.
I think it would have been closer with Carlyle coaching than Boudreau despite Carlyle being a terrible coach.
Always felt like in the playoffs Boudreau looked like the pressure was getting to him, along with not being good at making adjustments in the playoffs. The more game 7s he lost it's like it made it even harder on him.
 
Verbeek played a role in developing Patrick Kane, Coach Qs most successful player. So maybe Kane has gone to bat for Q to Verbeek ? Interesting because that's Zegras favorite player/idol.

From Wikipedia: Kane played for the Buffalo Saints 14U AAA hockey club.[10] Donnie Harkins, the head coach of the Honeybaked 16U AAA hockey club, personally recruited Kane to join his team in Michigan after watching him play in a tournament.[12] At the age of 14, Kane relocated to Detroit, Michigan to play for Honeybaked during the 2003–04 season. He resided with former NHL player Pat Verbeek while living in Detroit, whom Kane regards as a mentor and one of his primary reasons for relocating.[8]
 
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Maybe I'm still not understanding what you're trying to say but while what Babcock was making his players do was certainly crossing a line that should not be crossed I don't know what universe asking players to show private pictures on their phones is worse than Quenneville being made aware that a member of his staff was acting sexually inappropriately with black aces, E.g. Young men barely out of their teen years and then recommending that they not investigate too intensely because doing so might distract the team and affect their performance in a cup final when the team's failures to take diligent action led to a Blackhawks employee being victimized, and after Aldridge got a cup ring, his name engraved on the cup, and a day with the cup, the team asked him to quietly resign and move on instead of investigating the full scope of what he did and turning him over to the police. Because the police were never involved, his background check had no red flags and he was able to get a job with a high school where he was arrested for molesting a minor. I really fail to see in what universe Babcock's admittedly shitty conduct is even arguably worse than that.
The quantity of your posts indicates you're quite worked up about this, seemingly to the point where you are using inflammatory rhetoric not consistent with the facts.

I think you're mischaracterizing what Q was told. Per the report, he was made aware of inappropriate socializing/texting and perhaps hitting on the players. That is very different than being told that a coach was demanding sex acts (which is the underlying allegation). There is zero evidence Q knew that at the relevant time period.

In addition, it is false to say that Q suggested "that they not investigate too intensely". Per all reports, he said nothing of the sort.

He still recommended by implication against taking action until the finals were over. That's in the report and it's not libel. Whether he's justified in trusting that hockey ops was on top of it, the team ultimately covered it up before, during, and after the Finals and there were serious consequences that resulted. He contributed to the cover up instead of insisting that the team take diligent and immediate action by recommending against it. I mean there's a reason why he was banned from the league for four years.

And considering how many players who gave information to the party who did the investigation reported that they'd heard rumors that Beach gave Aldridge oral sex, I really f***ing doubt that Quenneville hadn't heard about it as he claimed. He probably lied to the investigators cover his ass. And if he'd heard that he should have insisted on taking more diligent action but instead he didn't want to rock the boat.

If this was Torts, I'm sure he not only would have removed Aldridge from the team with immediate effect and insisted on an investigation, he probably would have beat the shit out of Aldridge too. Obviously pure speculation there, but Quenneville was more concerned with winning than taking action to protect kids in his care. It's in the report.
Recommended by implication? That is quite a formulation. Again, what you fail to recognize, is that Q was under the impression this was a case involving sexual harassment, not actual sexual abuse.

I think its fair to say that allegations of harassment should have been sufficient to remove the coach. To me, that is the mistake. But to suggest (without evidence) that Q had knowledge of the rumors of abuse is not supported by any evidence.

I literally couldn't disagree more with most of your conclusions here. If my superior tells me he's handling a situation, I don't believe that 2 weeks is an insane amount of time for action to be taken. We will have to agree to disagree I guess.
I think this is correct, particularly by the standards of 2010 (pre-me too) and when Q understood he was dealing with harassment, not sexual blackmail.
Yeah I guess so. It's a much different situation when you're dealing with potential sexual victimization of young men not even at age of majority by a member of your staff.

The damning part of what we can actually confirm from the investigative report (since there's doubtless plenty of information that was withheld or facts that were softened in an investigation that relied almost entirely on testimonial information regarding events that had happened over ten years prior) is that Quenneville's reaction to what he had been told about Aldridge was to bemoan that making too big a deal about it would distract his players in their cup finals series. He, like everyone else in that room, should have insisted that they investigate futher. They should have suspended Aldridge pending a deeper investigation and if that investigation revealed actual criminal activity he should have been turned over the the police. He was part of a series of decisions that made it so none of that happened.

You're fine with Q letting someone else handle it? I'm not. Those kids were under his care. And he prioritized winning and avoiding public controversy over the well being of kids. I will never be okay with that.
Again, in this post you're using an over the top and misleading (if not false) formulation. The victims on the Chicago team were at age of majority. Full stop. And again, Q was not aware of sexual victimization of anyone, only harassment.

In addition, he did understand an investigation would be forthcoming. It is not his job to conduct the investigation.

So the only valid criticism I can see is that the coach was not suspended (or at least precluded from contact with players) pending the outcome of the investigation. That is where Q put his desire to win ahead of proper protocol.

I think there are other good coaching options that don't carry Q's baggage. But none have his pedigree. I don't feel strongly one way or the other on Q. But if Q is hired, he should be asked hard questions by the press and the ducks should be prepared to answer those same questions.
 
Arguing that elite level goaltending is included as a part of our “floor” is a little aggressive I would say.

We totaled 80pts, but didn’t play like an 80 pt team, I’d hardly call that our floor at this point. Unless elite goaltending is drawn in sharpie every year before the season starts.

What you are stating is last year's elite level goaltending was a fluke. And you are stating that Dostal's elite level goaltending was also a fluke. I guess the Ducks need to trade for an elite goaltender or one closer to it b/c Dostal is not that netminder.

The elite level goaltending held up throughout the season, which included Husso, who was added later in the season. Husso went from 0.886 in nine games (8 starts) with Detroit to 0.925 in four games (3 starts) with Anaheim. The one problem we had was overworking Dostal to where it would affect his game. That's more on Cronin chasing the points.

This year's Anaheim goaltending coaching department got a huge boost with Sudsie beating cancer as well as being promoted as an overseer and the hiring of Peter Budaj to being the on-ice goalie coach this year. The previous year, it was David Rook as our goalie coach and Sudsie wasn't able to coach due to battling cancer. There is a considerable difference between having just Rook to having Sudsie and Budaj as goalie coaches. The fact the goaltending held up throughout the whole season is a large sample size to bank upon next season, with Dostal as the lead dog.

Our goaltending coaching dept tandem of Sudsie & Budaj is the reason to bank upon having elite or close to elite level netminding, provided they are given talented goalies beyond Dostal. We do not know what the future holds for Gibson or Husso. That factor is unknown. Yet, if Verbeek is determined to reach the playoffs next season, then it would be prudent to keep Gibson and probably sign Husso. Although, there will be a log jam of goalies at the AHL and ECHL level with Clara, Suchanek, and Buteyets under contract. Clang is an RFA.
 

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This seems to be false. And what he knew is in dispute. More on that below.

If/when Q is hired by the ducks or any other team, there will be a firestorm that I think will blow over pretty quickly.


I've now read the key parts of the report. I suggest people read it as well, particularly the portion starting on page 38 which details what was known/disclosed. I think the statement bolded above is not supported by the report and subsequent athletic article.

It appears there is a serious disagreement as to what was reported by the victim initially. - read page 42 "John Doe’s and Black Ace 1’s Conversations with Jim Gary" and page 46, Jim Gary's statement. The victim (who was suing the Hawks) claims he made full disclosure to Jim Gary of the actual sexual assault. All other parties recall the victim disclosing that Aldrich was socializing with players (which would be inappropriate/unusual even w/o sexual assault) and engaging in sexual advances (texts, etc,) but no mention of sexual assault.

The key meeting was after game 4 in San Jose. It seems that all parties at the meeting agree that Jim Gary - the only one who spoke with the victim at that time - did not report an actual sexual assault. Quenneville, in particular, denies having knowledge of an actual sexual assault or even the player involved. Page 50. So either the victim did not report an assault to Gary (as Gary claims) or Gary did not report that in the meeting.

In hindsight, we all agree that the Hawks (including Q) should have done more and acted more aggressively to investigate and take action. That being said, I think it is understandable that people would react differently to claims of inappropriate socializing/texts/advances vs an actual sexual assault or a coach demanding sex in exchange for helping that player's career (essentially a casting couch of sorts). And we need to remember this all occurred in 2010, prior to the me too movement which brough a lot of awareness to these situations.

And by all accounts, it seems that Q was not aware of the sexual assault or for that matter the details of what happened. He should have been more curios - but at the same time he expected his superiors would handle the investigation and take action. The reality is that if a proper HR investigation would have been commenced (as it should have), Q likely would have been told by the investigators to not take any further action pending the investigation. That is pretty typical once HR gets involved.

My bottom line in reading the report is that Q should have done more to protect his players, but that primary responsibility for taking action was with his bosses.


The Samuelis may have signed off - not sure about that. If you interview Q, the first inquiry is about the incident and Q's actions since being fired, some of which is detailed in the athletic article.

For sure the Samuelis will have to sign off hiring Q. By no means does an interview mean they're willing to hire him.


Read the report. He denies saying that. But even if he did, he said this in the context of not knowing the victim had been sexually assaulted.


I don't read the article that way.
I have read the entire report, back when it came out. The much more believable answer to me is that Quenneville has lied. Multiple other individuals placed him there, and said he reacted to the information. Quenneville also denied knowing about it during his “I’m so sorry” tour. Now, it’s possible that everyone else in the room is lying in order to make him a patsy, or, it’s possible he’s lawyered up and is doing the time honored “I do not recall, senator”.

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@duckpuck If only there was a strong media presence reporting on the Ducks that would pose hard questions to Q and PV if hired. That is probably one of the draws to Anaheim for Q is he more than likely will get one or 2 questions on the topic and that's it. Would be very different in a Canadian Market or New York, Phily, Boston, or Pitt.

I think you're correct on all fronts. However, the national and Canadian media will be all over this story the day he's hired and for a brief period thereafter. It will also be a story throughout the first year each time they visit an opposing market for the first time.

Verbeek and presumably the Samuelis know this. It will factor into their hiring decision and it wouldn't surprise me if the ducks ultimately decide it is not worth the aggravation/bad press. It really depends on the quality of the other coaches who are willing to take the ducks job (not all coaches will be).
 
Playing devils advocate his attorney (probably hired by the Hawks org)is using the legal system to mitigate their ultimate payout. Happens all the time in civil suits and is usually a tactic to assist in negations for the final settlement. I work more in the criminal side of things and defendants rarely testify. I’ve been involved in lawsuits where one sides attorneys do everything possible to stop depos. I don’t think this necessarily means “he hasn’t learned anything.” It means his attorneys are trying to use the tools available to them.

But I get what you and Five are saying. And for record, I’m against Q as a coach just pointing out this doesn’t necessarily mean he hasn’t taken accountability. I can’t believe I’m quasi defending Bowman lol.

It's a bit of a distinction without a difference. He's his own man, he hasn't been employed by the Hawks for years, he's not the one being sued is he, so if he's still choosing to try and stay silent to protect the Hawks, then he hasn't learned a goddamn thing.

And all that time he spent working with victims and promises to do better to protect them going forward? Just empty words.

Call me cynical too, but any PR stuff by Q is probably more of the same. It's just a couple of F'd up people with messed up priorities hoping to get back to their coveted 7 figure jobs.
 
I have read the entire report, back when it came out. The much more believable answer to me is that Quenneville has lied. Multiple other individuals placed him there, and said he reacted to the information. Quenneville also denied knowing about it during his “I’m so sorry” tour. Now, it’s possible that everyone else in the room is lying in order to make him a patsy, or, it’s possible he’s lawyered up and is doing the time honored “I do not recall, senator”.

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Here is a full description from the article on Q:

He asked the former Blues and Blackhawks head coach when he learned about the sexual assault:

“First time I heard anything about sexual assault, sexual abuse (was) on my way to the commissioner’s office (2 years ago). … I blame myself, that meeting, that I didn’t push the envelope to find out the level of seriousness. I wasn’t informed what had took place.”

That doesn’t add up with the report from Jenner & Block, which said Quenneville personally attended a meeting in which he, former Blackhawks team president John McDonough and former Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman were all present. Strickland pressed on that issue.

Quenneville said when he was called into an office to discuss “something” — he didn’t know what when he was brought into a meeting that was “already ongoing” — he was told that video coach Brad Aldrich was sending inappropriate text messages to Rockford IceHogs players, going to bars with them and socializing with them in a way that was “bothering” the prospects.

At which point, according to Quenneville, he was simply informed of that and sent on his way. He claims to have not known about the specifics of the allegations until he was on his way to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after the report was published.


During that meeting, Quenneville says all parties involved came to an understanding that it made sense for him to step away from the game. However, Quenneville says he did not expect his time away from the game to be as long as it has been thus far.

Quenneville takes some responsibility for not asking more questions about what was going on. And he says he would have handled it very differently had he known the full extent of what was happening.

“I’m not blaming anybody. But the upper management, I had a name for them. I called them ‘the firm.’ Not in a derogatory way at all. But just the way they did business. It was a matter of fact, you know, legal, business-like law firm,” Quenneville said. “And that’s basically what it was. You knew your job and job description. You knew your role. You knew to stay in your lane. And you knew who the boss or bosses were.”

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Quenneville said he did reach out to Beach after he read the investigation report, and that he did speak with Beach after some time when Beach reached back out to him. He did not speak about the nature of their conversation.



 
1. The quantity of your posts indicates you're quite worked up about this, seemingly to the point where you are using inflammatory rhetoric not consistent with the facts.

2. I think you're mischaracterizing what Q was told. Per the report, he was made aware of inappropriate socializing/texting and perhaps hitting on the players. That is very different than being told that a coach was demanding sex acts (which is the underlying allegation). There is zero evidence Q knew that at the relevant time period.

3A. In addition, it is false to say that Q suggested "that they not investigate too intensely". Per all reports, he said nothing of the sort.


3B. Recommended by implication? That is quite a formulation. Again, what you fail to recognize, is that Q was under the impression this was a case involving sexual harassment, not actual sexual abuse.

4. I think its fair to say that allegations of harassment should have been sufficient to remove the coach. To me, that is the mistake. But to suggest (without evidence) that Q had knowledge of the rumors of abuse is not supported by any evidence.


5. I think this is correct, particularly by the standards of 2010 (pre-me too) and when Q understood he was dealing with harassment, not sexual blackmail.

6. Again, in this post you're using an over the top and misleading (if not false) formulation. The victims on the Chicago team were at age of majority. Full stop. And again, Q was not aware of sexual victimization of anyone, only harassment.

7. In addition, he did understand an investigation would be forthcoming. It is not his job to conduct the investigation.

8. So the only valid criticism I can see is that the coach was not suspended (or at least precluded from contact with players) pending the outcome of the investigation. That is where Q put his desire to win ahead of proper protocol.

9. I think there are other good coaching options that don't carry Q's baggage. But none have his pedigree. I don't feel strongly one way or the other on Q. But if Q is hired, he should be asked hard questions by the press and the ducks should be prepared to answer those same questions.
1. Yeah no shit I'm worked up about it. I find even the proposition that this man might be our coach to be abhorrent. If others feel less strongly than I do that's their business. This is very serious to me as someone who has always been extremely critical of the Blackhawks regarding this scandal and the NHL's limp dick response in "punishing" them. Hiring a man who was at the center of the scandal directly conflicts with my values and has me considering withdrawing my support for the team until Q is gone, if he does indeed become coach. As for the facts we can take that one at a time.

2. I'm not mischaracterizing anything. I read the report carefully and I've adjusted my language accordingly. Yes he maybe didn't know about a sexual assault before Aldridge was let go. He was, however, advised of unwanted sexual advances by a member of his staff on a young man (20 years old) in his care. That should be enough to trigger a deeper investigation than what the Blackhawks ended up doing.

3A. They didn't say it explicitly but when the team met to discuss what to do about the reports they'd received just after clinching a cup win, the discussion was tinged with lamentations on if they were to act too harshly against Aldridge, e.g. suspending him or asking the players questions, it might create a distraction that would impact the team's play during the Stanley Cup final. Quenneville was one of the individuals who voiced such a lamentation.

3B. And that makes it better? Again these are kids we're talking about. Kids who were under his care and supervision among others. Are you really trying to make the argument that potential sexual harassment against young men warrants less immediate and diligent investigation than potential sexual assault against young men? I doubt you are but the implication here is pretty damning.

4. It's not supported by evidence and I made that fairly clear. I suspect he knew because so many of his players reported to the investigators that they'd heard rumors of sexual activity between Beach and Aldridge. That much smoke around the locker room and all of it missed the head coach? I doubt it. But I wouldn't say it's impossible. What I can say is I don't believe the Jenner and Block report has all the information. That's dependent on everyone who spoke with them about the incident relaying 100% accurate and 100% truthful recollection of events that had transpired more than ten years before the investigation. I really doubt that occurred.

5. Again, I don't see why that disclaims Quenneville's opportunity to do more for a young man in his care.

6. You're right, I conflated being under drinking age with the age of minority and that was an embarassing mistake. They're still young men who were, at least to the knowledge of the Blackhawks brass, being subjected to sexual harassment from an individual with power over them. Irrespective of my thoughtless word choice, the distinction between known harassment and unknown sexual assault, to me, doesn't really absolve the inaction. These were more vulnerable individuals and there could have been more impropriety than mere harassment at play. The Blackhawks never really found out because they collectively decided they'd let hockey ops handle it separately and in a manner that wouldn't intrude upon and distract the players playing in the cup finals. Quenneville was in favor of those limitations, and those limitations resulted in additional offenses because the organization didn't take it seriously enough.

7. I never said it was but his words facilitated conditions that led to inaction and half-measures that resulted in additional harms.

8. I mean. A little half baked, but sure. You think it's fine that he just passed the buck and let the cards play out in the hands of others. I think he bore more responsibility than that and is probably lying about how much he actually knew. Whether he did or not, I find his inaction to be despicable.

9. And it will likely be entirely spin on how much Quenneville has learned and grown from his mistakes and ready to move forward. Some might buy that. Some might not. For me personally I have my take on what happened and I don't want that history intermingling with the team's image, their identity, or their value system and I don't believe I personally can separate the two. If others can, more power to em. I'm not voicing my concerns to dictate to others how they should react to the potential hiring or the hiring should it transpire. That's their business, that's their decisions. But with my own value system and my utter disgust at the totality of the Aldridge scandal I want my team to have no part of it even indirectly. I am deeply concerned about it coming to pass and frankly have few IRL people to talk about it so I've been coming here to vent and vocalize my concern. If others change their feelings on the matter because of what I've said, so what? If others don't care and think I'm being a dork for being so concerned about this, so what?
 
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Here is a full description from the article on Q:

He asked the former Blues and Blackhawks head coach when he learned about the sexual assault:


That doesn’t add up with the report from Jenner & Block, which said Quenneville personally attended a meeting in which he, former Blackhawks team president John McDonough and former Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman were all present. Strickland pressed on that issue.

Quenneville said when he was called into an office to discuss “something” — he didn’t know what when he was brought into a meeting that was “already ongoing” — he was told that video coach Brad Aldrich was sending inappropriate text messages to Rockford IceHogs players, going to bars with them and socializing with them in a way that was “bothering” the prospects.

At which point, according to Quenneville, he was simply informed of that and sent on his way. He claims to have not known about the specifics of the allegations until he was on his way to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after the report was published.


During that meeting, Quenneville says all parties involved came to an understanding that it made sense for him to step away from the game. However, Quenneville says he did not expect his time away from the game to be as long as it has been thus far.

Quenneville takes some responsibility for not asking more questions about what was going on. And he says he would have handled it very differently had he known the full extent of what was happening.


Quenneville said he did reach out to Beach after he read the investigation report, and that he did speak with Beach after some time when Beach reached back out to him. He did not speak about the nature of their conversation.



Exactly. His statements don’t add up to the findings of an independent investigation, where the individuals were individually interviewed, and several of them said that yes, Quenneville was present, and yes, Quenneville had an emotional reaction to the situation.

You want to believe Quenneville, for whatever reason you want to believe Quenneville. I am choosing to go with the statements of multiple other individuals that were there that contradict him, because I believe that 100% of the individuals involved were complicit. Repeatedly quoting someone I consider to be lying about the situation isn’t going to change my mind. The main individual said it was made plain to Quenneville that Aldrich blackmailed the guy’s career if he wouldn’t allow sexual relations, and yet Quenneville never followed up on this situation? And was ok with his name on the Cup?

I’m sorry, the “I woulda reached out if I just know more” is a crock. He knew more than enough.
 
What you are stating is last year's elite level goaltending was a fluke. And you are stating that Dostal's elite level goaltending was also a fluke. I guess the Ducks need to trade for an elite goaltender or one closer to it b/c Dostal is not that netminder.

The elite level goaltending held up throughout the season, which included Husso, who was added later in the season. Husso went from 0.886 in nine games (8 starts) with Detroit to 0.925 in four games (3 starts) with Anaheim. The one problem we had was overworking Dostal to where it would affect his game. That's more on Cronin chasing the points.

This year's Anaheim goaltending coaching department got a huge boost with Sudsie beating cancer as well as being promoted as an overseer and the hiring of Peter Budaj to being the on-ice goalie coach this year. The previous year, it was David Rook as our goalie coach and Sudsie wasn't able to coach due to battling cancer. There is a considerable difference between having just Rook to having Sudsie and Budaj as goalie coaches. The fact the goaltending held up throughout the whole season is a large sample size to bank upon next season, with Dostal as the lead dog.

Our goaltending coaching dept tandem of Sudsie & Budaj is the reason to bank upon having elite or close to elite level netminding, provided they are given talented goalies beyond Dostal. We do not know what the future holds for Gibson or Husso. That factor is unknown. Yet, if Verbeek is determined to reach the playoffs next season, then it would be prudent to keep Gibson and probably sign Husso. Although, there will be a log jam of goalies at the AHL and ECHL level with Clara, Suchanek, and Buteyets under contract. Clang is an RFA.
There is a difference between whether I think Dostal / Gibson will take a step back or not ….. and stating the team’s floor is last years stats. And I don’t particularly think I’m saying something crazy here.

Gibsons best year stat wise in 7 years, Dostal in his second full season. I don’t think they are going to fall off a cliff, but I’m not going to say best tandem in the league is the floor.
 
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It's a bit of a distinction without a difference. He's his own man, he hasn't been employed by the Hawks for years, he's not the one being sued is he, so if he's still choosing to try and stay silent to protect the Hawks, then he hasn't learned a goddamn thing.

And all that time he spent working with victims and promises to do better to protect them going forward? Just empty words.

Call me cynical too, but any PR stuff by Q is probably more of the same. It's just a couple of F'd up people with messed up priorities hoping to get back to their coveted 7 figure jobs.
I 100% get your point of view now. I guess I'm just not willing to make the leap of he's using the legal tools available to him to necessarily mean he hasn't learned anything or refuses to take any responsibility.

I mean if the Hawks have assigned Bowman lawyers to defend the organization and Bowman out and out refused to follow their lead, he would probably have to declare himself a whistleblower so he is afforded some protection from the inevitably suit against him by the Hawks. I guess he could do that if he chose to do that.

This is getting way off topic. Sorry Mods!

Although I am playing devil's advocate with Five, I am still against the hiring of Q as the Coach of the Ducks. Too much baggage for me and I think it will be a distraction for a long time as the players will get questioned about it all year long as duckpuck rightly pointed out.
 
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I 100% get your point of view now. I guess I'm just not willing to make the leap of he's using the legal tools available to him to necessarily mean he hasn't learned anything or refuses to take any responsibility.

I mean if the Hawks have assigned Bowman lawyers to defend the organization and Bowman out and out refused to follow their lead, he would probably have to declare himself a whistleblower so he is afforded some protection from the inevitably suit against him by the Hawks. I guess he could do that if he chose to do that.

IMO, if he really were a changed man, then he should in fact be willing to do just that. My guess however is that if he does do that, he becomes a bit of a pariah in the old boys club, not to mention if he remembers things under oath that he previously "forgot" then it sort of puts him in a real awkward spot personally. Maybe even that his reinstatement was based on false pretenses.

But to that I would say, at least he'd show a real soul, and maybe people can look at him as a real redemption story instead of a fake one. And perhaps he can look at himself in the mirror again without seeing a fraud looking back.
 
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I have read the entire report, back when it came out. The much more believable answer to me is that Quenneville has lied. Multiple other individuals placed him there, and said he reacted to the information. Quenneville also denied knowing about it during his “I’m so sorry” tour. Now, it’s possible that everyone else in the room is lying in order to make him a patsy, or, it’s possible he’s lawyered up and is doing the time honored “I do not recall, senator”.

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Thanks for posting these, all I had seen was the same quote from Quenneville's perspective that essentially said "there was a meeting about an incident but we weren't told what" which makes absolutely zero sense.
 
Even if Q is the best man for the job, this seems like more distraction and hassle than its worth. If this is a favor to Q, kind of get his name out there again, allow Q, his camp and teams to see what kind of reception he gets around the league, then fine. But if its more than that, Beeker is tying his career to Q.

I will say, I highly doubt Q will ever be in a situation like that again. He will likely be a shining example of class and what not, but the baggage doesnt go away. Is this team and Organization in a place where they can weather the distraction storm that would come? Is Q ready for the onslaught of questions and distractions that would come?

It all feels very unnecessary. Im all for 2nd chances, but they dont always have to come in the form of restoring the exact job the person had before. You want to hire him as a consultant or scout? Cool. Special Assistant to who-or-what ever? Alright. Head coach? I mean, he would really have to blow people away with a great PR campaign for a lot of people to forgive.

The Org just did a face lift with new logo and colors. They are building an entertainment hot spot. Young kids starting to break out. The time is right for a fresh face behind the bench. Outside of just the hockey aspect, just doesnt seem to be the right fit for a guy like Q. Thats why I remain skeptical that all of this is actually what its being presented as.
 
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Even if Q is the best man for the job, this seems like more distraction and hassle than its worth. If this is a favor to Q, kind of get his name out there again, allow Q, his camp and teams to see what kind of reception he gets around the league, then fine. But if its more than that, Beeker is tying his career to Q.

I will say, I highly doubt Q will ever be in a situation like that again. He will likely be a shining example of class and what not, but the baggage doesnt go away. Is this team and Organization in a place where they can weather the distraction storm that would come? Is Q ready for the onslaught of questions and distractions that would come?

It all feels very unnecessary. Im all for 2nd chances, but they dont always have to come in the form of restoring the exact job the person had before. You want to hire him as a consultant or scout? Cool. Special Assistant to who-or-what ever? Alright. Head coach? I mean, he would really have to blow people away with a great PR campaign for a lot of people to forgive.

The Org just did a face lift with new logo and colors. They are building an entertainment hot spot. Young kids starting to break out. The time is right for a fresh face behind the bench. Outside of just the hockey aspect, just doesnt seem to be the right fit for a guy like Q. Thats why I remain skeptical that all of this is actually what its being presented as.
I think the opposite is true. You need a winning team so that people come to the amenities.
 
Thanks for posting these, all I had seen was the same quote from Quenneville's perspective that essentially said "there was a meeting about an incident but we weren't told what" which makes absolutely zero sense.
Quenneville’s maintained that he didn’t know it was sexual assault but that’s actually consistent because all the Blackhawks brass maintains the same thing. IIRC they all, including the guy who talked to Beach, said they were told it was Aldrich making unwanted advances and threatening/pressuring him(I think), which is still awful on its own but obviously sexual assault is another animal entirely. They might all be lying or it might not remotely matter but that part doesn’t really differ from anyone else’s account other than Beach’s.

The waters also get a bit muddier with Q because he wasn’t there when the meeting started. There’s few specifics of what was said when and timings but the management guys started the meeting and only sometime, whether it was a minute in or ten, did they decide to go fetch him and see what he thought. So it really isn’t impossible he didn’t even get a full recounting of that and something was missed.
 
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I have read the entire report, back when it came out. The much more believable answer to me is that Quenneville has lied. Multiple other individuals placed him there, and said he reacted to the information. Quenneville also denied knowing about it during his “I’m so sorry” tour. Now, it’s possible that everyone else in the room is lying in order to make him a patsy, or, it’s possible he’s lawyered up and is doing the time honored “I do not recall, senator”.

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Q was informed something not good was going on with one of his coaches and some players (down on the farm or NHL level) in the meeting. It's gotta be important if there was a special meeting out of nowhere. Then later on, Q is saying if he had known of the actual problem, then he would have gotten rid of Aldrich. Yet, Q knew something wrong was already going on and blamed the higher ups as he was told to 'stay in your land and mind your own business' (paraphrasing).

Taking care of the players and underling coaches is part of the head coach's job, but Q chose to stick his head in the proverbial sand just so he can impersonate Shaggy and sing, "It wasn't me." That's a terrible trait for a head coach, especially with all the youth in Anaheim and a GM, who desires his youths to play hurt and already got fined for forcing a youth into a summer workout, wanting to make the playoffs next season.
 
One of the most interesting things to me with Quenneville is the effect on Verbeek. This would be a controversial hiring, and thus risky for his own job. Essentially, he's putting his job on the line for Quenneville.

If it goes south in two years or less, that will reflect very poorly on Verbeek. It would not only be another failure at hiring coaches, but the added stress from the controversial hiring would probably put his job at serious risk. If he hires Woodcroft, for example, and that doesn't work out in that time period, Verbeek is probably safe.
 
You know who else was good with coaching prospects and is also available? Graham James. I mean talk about putting in your time. AND I think Theo Fleury forgave him as part of his 12-step program, so we're good.

I remember reading Fleury's memoir years ago when it first came out, which was revealing, but the biggest takeaway for me from it (not related to the abuse) as someone who was too young to remember his tenure here was how much of a moron he thought Pierre Page was.
 
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