Keith on Not Knowing about Beach/Aldrich Incident: “I didn’t know anything… Maybe that’s hard for people to understand, but that’s the truth.”

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Edmonton Sun

‘I didn’t know anything’ – Oilers Keith addresses Blackhawks investigation

The Jenner and Block report says Blackhawks management, including head coach Joel Quenneville, were made aware of vague allegations against Aldrich in a brief meeting on May 23, but that Blackhawks players were not part of that discussion.
With the Chicago Blackhawks getting set for a Stanley Cup final series with the Philadelphia Flyers, Keith says the players were locked into to the task at hand with complete tunnel vision.
“I didn’t know anything,” he said. “My whole focus was right in the moment, doing what we had to do as a team. As one of the leaders on that team, our focus was trying to win hockey games.”
“Maybe that’s hard for people to understand, but that’s the truth. Not everybody knew. And I didn’t know that those things happened to that person.”
Players are absolutely insulated during a deep playoff run, with distractions deliberately kept outside the bubble, so it’s conceivable that the facts of the assault didn’t surface in the 16 days between the initial May 23 meeting and the end of the playoffs on June 9.
…any players who did hear rumours likely assumed that management was handling it.
“If I was aware of it, or multiple players were aware of what was going on, it would be a different story.”
“If it happened now and it was something I was made aware of, for sure, you have to say something, there has to be something done. It’s obviously unacceptable. It’s brutal what that guy had to endure and deal with and probably still deals with today.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t have much to say on this one. I feel for Beach, but at the same time, I’m incredible proud of the young man for doing what he had to do to get justice. Who knows how different his career would’ve been had the Hawks dealt with the matter at the time?

In my opinion, the balance of power has to shift to the players at some point. You have these predators out there who abuse said power to get what they want and you’ve got the players who are sacrificing everything to achieve their goals.

In addition to that, there has to be a feeling as if the players are betraying the team if they report any incidents and that goes against the very nature of being a team. All for one, one for all, no? Who wants to be that guy who derails a team’s championship run or a friend’s chances of getting drafted? I’m not saying those are justifiable actions, I’m saying if the players/staff knew they were protected and better off in the long run if they stuck together in these instances, how many of these predators could be reported?

So the question becomes, how can this element of sporting culture be improved?

As for the cancel culture in Edmonton (and other places) going after Duncan Keith, he didn’t say what you wanted him to say, boo hoo. He told you his truth and that sucks for you that it doesn’t line up with the “truth” YOU wanted him to give. If he didn’t know, he didn’t know and you can’t force that to change. If you think he’s lying, prove that he’s lying! If you can’t, sit down and shut the hell up. In fact, what you should be doing is pointing your anger at Brad Aldrich and using all your efforts to get that guy off the streets… Get your priorities straight FFS!

Probably wouldn’t shock anybody to learn that the same folks going after Keith are the same ones who disagreed with the trade that brought him here…

Cult of Hockey

Edmonton Oilers forward ranked as one of the top bargains in the NHL this year

This just in from CapFriendly, news that so far this year Edmonton has one of the top bargain players in the entire NHL in Jesse Puljujarvi.
When you compare salary to points production, Puljujarvi ranks second in the entire NHL, behind only Detroit rookie Lucas Raymond. Puljujajarvi, who has a cap hit of $1,175,000 has eight points in five games. Raymond has seven points in six games, but makes $925,000…
For Edmonton to compete this year and in years to come, it will need a steady supply of young forwards on value contracts to help out in the Core-12…
Puljujarvi’s two-way play has been strong. He’s confident carrying and shooting the puck, he’s winning his share of board battles and has done well in his own zone.
He’s ranked as the top Oilers winger when it comes to individual Grade A scoring chances plus-minus.
At even strength he’s made major contributions to 11 Grade A chances and he’s made major mistakes on just three against, making him +1.5 Grade A chances per game.

BLH’s Thoughts: We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg with this young man, who, ironically, is about the same size as an iceberg. It won’t matter where the Oilers put him in the lineup, he’s going to be a force of nature at every turn.

Right now, he’s wrecking Patrik Laine in the fancy stats battle.

Do you think he’s going to 4x or 6x his current deal in the summer?

NHLRumors.com

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff: There has been speculation that Jack Eichel could file a grievance in the next 10 to 14 days.
The trade talk between the Buffalo Sabres and Vegas Golden Knights has increased over the past to days.
Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post: The Colorado Avalanche are off to a slow start, and if it continues, could GM Joe Sakic look to make a bold move?
TSN: Kyle Davidson was named the interim GM of the Chicago Blackhawks, but his inexperience will have them searching for an experienced GM according to Darren Dreger, and there are several possible GMs available.
Arthur Staple: “No one asked, but Hawks next two calls should be to Ed Olczyk for president/hockey ops and Jeff Gorton for GM.

BLH’s Thoughts: