NHL commissioner says it's not 'necessary' to suspend NHL players charged with sexual assault

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says it's not "necessary" for the NHL to suspend without pay four players who have been criminally charged with sexual assault.

The charges are tied to an alleged group sexual assault byplayers from Canada's 2018 World Junior team who went on to play in the NHL. Police allege the incidenthappened in a player's hotel roomfollowing aHockey Canada Foundation Gala and Golf event on June 19, 2018.

Bettmantold apress conference Friday the NHL players allegedly involved are now all on leave from their teamsand are free agents. He said their contracts are set to expire at the end of the season, so they don't need to be suspended.

"I don't think that'snecessary at this stage," said Bettman. "This is, as I've said repeatedly, a fairly complicated ... matter.

"The fact that they'reaway from their teams and not playing, I'm comfortable with. They've been paid the vast bulk of their salary for the year anyway."

Bettmanconfirmed the players accused of crimes are currently receiving their paycheques.

He said that in order for an NHL team to terminate a contract "successfully, you need to be able to prove certain things."

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Responding to a question about whether the NHL could suspend and withhold pay to four players recently charged with sexual assault, league commissioner Gary Bettman said he was already 'comfortable' with the fact they were away from their teams and not currently playing.

New Jersey Devils player Michael McLeod faces one chargeof sexual assault and another of being a party to the offence, according tocourt documents. His teammate, Cal Foote, was also charged with one count of sexual assault.

The Devils re-signed McLeod and Footelast summer to one-year contracts worth $2.2 million combined.

Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, DillionDubof the Calgary Flames and former Ottawa Senator Alex Formenton, who now plays in Switzerland, were also charged, according to court documents.

Lawyers for the players say they have denied any wrongdoing and will plead not guilty.

The five players allegedly involved in the case requested and weregranted leaves of absences from their NHL and European teams last month ahead of surrenderingto police.

• CBC explains: An alleged group sexual assault is headed to court. Here's what could happen next

NHLwon't release results of probe

Bettmansaidthe NHL'sownyear-long external investigation into the alleged group sexual assault wrapped up last year. He also said the NHL would not release the results of the investigation "while these charges are pending."

When asked why the league didn't share its findings earlier, Bettman said the NHL was in the process of talking to the players' association about how to move forwardwhen news broke that the players were going to be criminally charged.

"I want to be clear. From the moment we first learned about this on May 26, 2022, I have repeatedly used the words abhorrent,reprehensible, horrific and unacceptable to describe the alleged behaviours," he said."And those words continue to apply."

Bettman also didn't commit Friday to releasing the league's investigation report once the criminal matter wraps up. He said there are "constraints" on the information the league can release publicly "under any circumstance."

When asked by CBC News for hismessage to the woman who allegedly was sexually assaulted, he said "we have to let the process play itself out."

"We were not able to interview her," said Bettman. "And there'sno faultthere, she was absolutely within her rights not to talk to us and we respect that, but that impacts also how the investigation had a complexity to it."

The commissionersaidit's "both inaccurate and unfair" to say there are systemic culture issues in hockey. He said hockey players and hockey families "overwhelmingly conduct themselves appropriately."

"Ninety-nine-point-nine per centof players, certainly in our league, conduct themselves appropriately," said Bettman.

"...To take a handful of players in this or in other situations and use those allegations and condemn a particular sport, Idon'tthink is reflective of what we are."

Bettman said the sexual assault allegationsare "not typical of NHL players."

"These players weren't NHL players in the league playing games at the time this alleged incident took place," he said.

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When pressed about whether he felt the recent arrests of players for sexual assault pointed toward a systemic culture issue in the NHL and the sport, league commissioner Gary Bettman said to make that characterization would be 'both inaccurate and unfair' and that '99.9 per cent of the players ... conduct themselves appropriately.'

Canada's former sports ministerPascale St-Onge said last year there is a "systemic problem" of sexual violence and toxic masculinity in Canada's hockey culture that Hockey Canada has failed to change.

Her comment was a response toa Fifth Estate investigationthat identified at least 15 group sexual assault cases in Canadainvolving junior hockey playersinvestigated by police since 1989 half of which surfaced in the past decade.

• Sex and shame in Canada's national game

The woman at the centre of the 2018 group sexual assault allegations, known only in court documents as"E.M.", filed a $3.5 million lawsuit that Hockey Canada settled.

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Allegations about misconduct at Hockey Canada

The settlement shook the sports world and parents were outraged to learn that their registration fees paid for the settlementwithout their knowledge, along withother settlements over the years tied to sexual abuse allegations that were worth millions of dollars.

London Police are scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday about the investigation they initially closed in 2019 without charges, only to re-openit in 2022 following a public outcry.