Blackhawks, Kyle Beach reach confidential settlement

The Chicago Blackhawks and Kyle Beach reached a settlement in Beach's negligence lawsuit against the club, according to TSN's Rick Westhead.

"The parties are pleased to announce that today's mediation resulted in a confidential settlement between the Blackhawks and Kyle Beach," said a joint statement released by Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, team CEO Danny Wirtz, and Beach's lawyer, Susan Loggans. "The Blackhawks hope that this resolution will bring some measure of peace and closure for Mr. Beach.

"As for the Blackhawks organization, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure that, going forward, this team will be a beacon for professionalism, respect, and integrity in our community. We remain grateful for the trust and support of the Blackhawks community, and we promise to continue working every day to earn and maintain that trust."

Beach said that former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted him in 2010 during Chicago's Stanley Cup Final run when Beach was a Black Ace for the team.

He said Blackhawks executives were told about the incident and didn't immediately act upon the information. An independent investigation, which concluded with a detailed report from law firm Jenner & Block in October, determined that senior leaders at minimum knew about allegations of sexual misconduct against Aldrich, did not act immediately, and later allowed him to resign without an investigation.

In the wake of the report, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman stepped down and vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac left the organization. Additionally, Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville resigned. They all held positions with the Blackhawks in 2010.

Aldrich's name has since been crossed off the Stanley Cup.

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