The NHL remains embroiled in a lawsuit brought against the league by former players alleging that the league deliberately ignored and concealed information regarding the long-term risks of repetitive brain injuries.
Many of the documents tied to the case, particularly emails to and from league executives have been unsealed. TSN’s Rick Westhead was among the first to acquire the documents, however they have also been run by the Associated Press and Toronto’s Globe & Mail newspaper. In addition to the summaries, the Globe & Mail also provided a link to the uploaded files unsealed by the U.S. district court in Minneapolis, making them searchable by all.
According to the AP, 298 documents were unsealed.
This was always a possibility, which the NHL was prepared for. Commissioner Gary Bettman had this to say when the possibility of more emails becoming public was raised (via the Chicago Tribune):
"The selective released leaking of documents out of context may cause some people to scratch their heads, a couple of other people maybe to for a brief moment be a little embarrassed about salty language or the like. But I'm very comfortable with our record," Bettman said then.
"I think in terms of us doing our business on an ongoing basis and the fact that we have the league to run, I'd prefer these things not be public. They'll be a distraction at best, but I don't think they impact the rest of the case."
While they may not necessarily impact the NHL’s day-to-day business per se, the emails that include exchanges among executives and conversations with individual team owners, GMs and members of the media raise many questions and often put the league in a negative light.
Many of the emails have already been making the rounds on social media and in other publications. While there are still many documents to pour through, here are some of the highlights of what has been publicly made available:
Note: Most emails quoted have been edited for clarity, however links to the specific emails exchanged are included.
1. One particular email exchange is receiving a lot of attention about the NHL’s stance on fighting’s contributions to bigger problems
One of the email conversations that has gotten the most attention since they became public is one that involves a series of senior NHL officials including commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly discussing an article in the Globe & Mail from Sept. 2, 2011 entitled “Getting rid of hockey’s goons.”
The article came on the heels of the tragic deaths of enforcers Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak and raised questions about fighting’s role in the game.
The email chain begins with vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan sending the link to Bettman and Daly.
Bettman’s response on Sept. 3, 2011:
“Do you remember what happened when we tried to eliminate the staged fights? The “fighters” objected and so did the [NHLPA]. Eliminating fighting would mean eliminating the jobs of the “fighters”, meaning that these guys would not have NHL careers. An interesting question is whether being an NHL fighter does this to you (I don’t believe so) or whether a certain type of person (who wouldn’t otherwise be skilled enough to be an NHL player) gravitates to this job (I believe more likely).”
“I tend to think it’s a little bit of both,” Daly wrote in response that is receiving particularly close attention. “Fighting raises the incidence of head injuries/concussions, which raises the incidence of depression onset, which raises the incidence of personal tragedies.”
“I believe the fighting and possible concussions aggravate a condition,” Bettman wrote back. “But if you think about the tragedies, there were probably certain predispositions. Again, though, the bigger issue is whether the [NHLPA] would consent to in effect eliminate the type of ‘role’ and player. And if they don’t we might try to do it anyway and take the ‘fight’ (pun intended).”
“They used to take alcohol or cocaine to cope [late NHL tough guy John] Kordic,” Shanahan wrote to provide the perspective of a former player. “Now they take pills. Pills to sleep. Pills to wake up. Pills to ease pain. Pills to amp up. Getting them online.”
Daly’s email, however, is the one that will get the most attention. It's a somewhat matter-of-fact statement that is in direct contradiction to what Bettman has said publicly in recent years. Additionally, that is the email that the plaintiffs’ attorneys appear focused on.
“While the NFL has recently admitted the link between repetitive trauma in sport and long-term brain disease, the NHL continues to deny the link, insisting that hockey is not football,” Michael Cashman, one of the lawyers representing the ex-NHL players, told TSN.ca’s Rick Westhead. “Contrary to those public denials, this internal email from senior NHL executive Bill Daly to commissioner Bettman acknowledges the link between head injuries, depression and personal tragedies.”
2. Emails from senior NHL officials could create some challenges for the league in terms of public perception
One of the early emails to go under the microscope is one from NHL senior vice president of communications Gary Meagher in which he says “the NHL has never been in the business of making the game safer at all levels and we have never tried to sell the fact that this is who we are.”
That was in response to the CEO of a market research company that was hired to take a survey about fan perception between the NFL and NHL. Meagher noted that the NFL had put money into selling to the public they were all about safety. He called it “smoke and mirrors.”
This is another email that the attorneys for the plaintiffs appear poised to target, based on Cashman’s comments to TSN.
Aside from that, NHL vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell has made a multitude of comments in emails that are sure to be embarrassing and potentially problematic for the NHL.
In an email to ex-player, coach, GM and current media personality Mike Milbury, Campbell says, “Let’s face it Mike…we sell rivalries, we sell and promote hate and when a player hits another player legally we can’t drill him because he’s a king rat!”
One of the chief concerns raised by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is the NHL’s promotion of violence as part of their business.
Other emails reflect poorly on Campbell as someone in an executive position like he is. There is one such email where Campbell refers to Ottawa Senators trainer Gerry Townend as an “absolute freaking idiot” after Townend raised concerns about the handling of concussions in an email to Dr. Ruben Echemendia that was forwarded to the NHL execs. In a reply to then-Penguins GM Ray Shero asking about a hit on Kris Letang, Campbell sent a condescending response expressing Letang should “Keep your freaking head up.” There are several emails where Campbell laments the position injured players have put themselves in prior to hits, so the “keep your head up” line comes up a lot. In an email to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Campbell refers to San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson as “Doug Whine Wilson” while talking about a hit by Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry on Jonathan Cheechoo that went unpunished. Campbell also said he asked why Wilson the Sharks didn’t “kill that little [expletive]” referring to Perry. There are more like these examples as well.
Oddly enough, there is also an email from Campbell to McKenzie in 2009 where Campbell says he is thinking about coming out against fighting or taking a stance to significantly scale it back. That stance appeared to change over time.
Another correspondence that doesn’t look so great is an exchange from Mike Murphy, NHL’s senior VP of hockey operations, to executives including Campbell, Meagher and Kris King, another VP of hockey operations. In it, Murphy stresses that he feels the league is getting “over doctored” and have been listening to too many experts who haven’t been on the field of play. Not wanting to listen to a doctor’s opinion because they never played the game is beyond bizarre.
The bad news for the NHL is there are a lot more emails like these now available to the public. Many of them may not harm the league in a legal sense, but the court of public opinion is quite different.
3. Former VP of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan urged the league to be a leader on the future of fighting.
Emails show that on multiple occasions, Shanahan wanted the NHL to take the lead on altering fighting rules. Days after Wade Belak’s death, Shanahan sent the following email to Bettman, Daly and Campbell:
Shanahan after Wade Belak’s suicide: "it goes back to concussions” + action to curb fighting “the right thing to do" pic.twitter.com/xu1GYiZODP
— Travis Hughes (@TravisSBN) March 30, 2016
Shanahan wants the NHL to be first on strengthening rules against fighting and while he doesn’t outright say it, what he wants to do effectively quashes the need for enforcers.
The NHL would eventually be beaten to the punch on stronger fighting rules by junior hockey leagues throughout the U.S. and Canada. After receiving an email regarding a story about the new rules coming to junior hockey, Shanahan responded once again expressing his desire for the league act themselves.
“I believe fighting as a tool or strategy is leaving the game of hockey and we can either lead or follow,” Shanahan wrote.
“Not so sure how drastic we take the lead if that is what your (sic) suggesting,” Campbell replied.
Shanahan himself was never one to back down from a fight and got himself into trouble on plenty of occasions. The fact he had some of the most progressive views among this group is interesting. Now that he no longer works for the league, it’s unclear where this debate stands.
4. Gary Bettman’s tone comes off as concerned at times and exceedingly cautious
As Cathal Kelly astutely wrote for the Globe & Mail regarding the unsealed emails, Bettman comes off sounding like the lawyer that he is. For the most part he is measured in his responses and occasionally reminds his underlings to be careful on “sensitive” topics. There are also lines of questioning from Bettman that suggest a deep concern regarding public perception.
There aren’t many statements Bettman makes in his emails that are contradictory to his public stances. The level of concern about the issues the league is facing, however, is more obvious in the emails than in public. Upon receiving a briefing from Dr. Ruben Echemendia, co-chair of the NHL/NHLPA Concussion Subcommittee, regarding an interview he gave to Jeff Klein of the New York Times, Bettman responds “Not good” and expresses concern about what point the story is trying to make.
In an exchange with Shanahan, Bettman says he feels that some of the statements made by NHL executives during various media interviews “went too far” when it came to the discussion about taking a closer look at fighting. “This is sensitive territory,” he added. “We need to be very careful.”
In another email exchange from 2011 between Bettman and Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson, Molson expresses concern about whether or not lawsuits against the NFL would put the NHL at risk. Molson also expressed that he didn’t think the league was doing enough on head contact. Bettman tried to put those concerns at ease.
“As you know, I understand and respect your view. However, for a variety of reasons, I do not believe that we are in the same situation as football and I do not believe the NFL lawsuits should ‘put us at risk.’ Among other things, we have been the leaders in the area of concussions and have set the standard on diagnosis, treatment and rule changes at the professional level. We should chat.”
“Glad to hear we are unlikely at risk… that is (was) my biggest fear,” Molson wrote back.
However, seeing as we can now read these emails, it looks like those biggest fears have been realized.
