In today’s NHL rumors rundown, big news dropped on Wednesday morning that five players were being told to surrender to the London Police Services regarding their involvement in an investigation into an alleged sexual abuse case surrounding 2018 Team Canada World Juniors players. The timing of the announcement comes as multiple NHL players have been granted indefinite leaves from their respective teams. In other news, Luke Fox, who broke the Ryan Reaves story, wonders if waivers is inevitable for the forward. Finally, former NHLer and now podcast host John Scott apologized for comments he made regarding former-Blackhawk and now Edmonton Oilers forward Corey Perry.
Multiple Players Leave NHL Teams As 2018 World Junior Investigation News Surfaces
On Wednesday, the New Jersey Devils made an official statement announcing that forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote have both been granted indefinite leaves of absence. This comes following news this week that other players from the 2018 Team Canada World Juniors roster were also granted leaves. Among them, Carter Hart from Philadelphia, and Dillon Dube from the Calgary Flames. Alex Formenton, who was playing in Switzerland and has been granted leave from the team with permission to return to Canada.
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This development comes in the wake of recent news that five players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior hockey team have been instructed by the London Police Services to surrender in connection with allegations of sexual assault.
The Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday that the players have yet to face formal charges. As such, it’s too soon to say these absences are directly connected. It does seem fairly obvious that this is not a coincidence. None of the players’ names have been disclosed, and each team asserts uncertainty about whether the leaves of absence are connected to the reported police summonses in London, Ontario.
Related: Five Former 2018 Canadian World Juniors Players Told to Surrender
It is crucial to emphasize that, as of now, no official announcements have been made, and charges have not been filed. The only confirmed information is that all five players were members of the 2018 Canadian national junior team currently under investigation for an alleged sexual assault involving team members in June of that year.
Could Ryan Reaves Hit Waivers This Week?
Luke Fox was asked about how he sees the Ryan Reaves situation unfolding in Toronto after the comments he made regarding his being held out of the lineup and on IR, despite being healthy. Reaves has since been activated by the team, but the comments may have sealed his fate.
Noting that there’s still more than two years on his contract and plenty of money left, trading him is not as simple as when the New York Rangers dealt Reaves to the Minnesota Wild. Instead, this is a player that could probably clear waivers and he might be placed on them this week.
John Scott Apologizes For Misinforming Listeners About Corey Perry
Podcast host and former NHL tough-guy John Scott has apologized for comments he made regarding Corey Perry this week, suggesting he had too much to drink in Chicago and made a pass at an NBC employee. Nothing has been made public about the Perry incident(s) that got his contract terminated by the Blackhawks, but Scott spoke as though he had the entire scoop. Clearly, that was not the case.
On Wednesday, he wrote in a tweet, “On my podcast this week I made a false and misleading statement regarding former Blackhawk Corey Perry. It was an off-the-cuff remark that is completely unfounded and not true. It was a poor choice of words and I’ll try to be more careful in the future.”
In other Blackhawks news, the team has extended goaltender Petr Mrazek to a two-year deal worth $8 million