NHL won’t interfere with Hockey Canada inquiry
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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
TORONTO — The NHL will not release its finding from a yearlong investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman by multiple players from the 2018 Canadian world junior hockey team until ongoing judicial proceedings have been completed by London, Ontario, police.
Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters Friday that the NHL had concluded its investigatory process and was prepared to share information with the NHL Players’ Association when news came down last week that police in London — where the alleged assault took place in June 2018 — were charging five current or former NHL players with involvement in the case. Bettman said the NHL did not know ahead of time the police would be asking those players to surrender, nor would Bettman confirm the identities of the players in question, except to say it “appeared” they were no longer with their respective clubs.
Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart, New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube and former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton (who has been playing in Switzerland) have all stepped away from their teams over the past week, and lawyers for each have released a public statement maintaining their client’s innocence and willingness to fight any charges.
The London police are scheduled to hold a news conference Monday providing more context on the matter.
“There’s a serious judicial process that looks like it’s unfolding,” Bettman said Friday. “And we didn’t, while we were doing our investigation, want to interfere with what the London Police Service was doing. And we’re not going to do anything to interfere with or influence the judicial proceedings. We’re all going to have to see how that plays out.”
Bettman did acknowledge the four players under NHL contract will continue to be paid. Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube will all be free agents after this season. Bettman said he would be “surprised” if any player returned to his team while the investigation was ongoing, but Bettman did not anticipate the players being suspended without pay regardless of what happens at Monday’s news conference.
“I don’t think that’s necessary at this stage. This is a complicated juris procedural matter,” Bettman said. “The fact that they’re away from their teams and not playing, I’m comfortable with. They’ve been paid the vast bulk of their salary for the year anyway. That’s not the concern. The concern is to get this right.”
As to whether the league would simply erase the existing deals, Bettman maintained that “in order to terminate a contract successfully, you need to be able to prove certain things” without elaborating further. Bettman also felt it “wasn’t appropriate” for him to critique how Hockey Canada — the sports’ governing body that oversees tournaments like the world juniors — originally handled its initial investigation into the matter.
Both Hockey Canada and the London police were informed of the alleged incident in June 2018. The woman’s then-stepfather reported she had been allegedly assaulted by multiple members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team — which was in town celebrating its gold medal win from that year’s tournament — following a Hockey Canada banquet in London the night before. No charges were ever filed, and the London police closed their investigation in February 2019. The woman filed a $3.55 million civil suit in April 2022 against Hockey Canada and eight players she alleged to be involved; Hockey Canada orchestrated weeks later an out-of-court settlement with the woman, details of which were never made public.
There were sparse references made by Bettman to what the NHL was able to accomplish in its own investigation of the alleged incident, including that the league interviewed every player on the team at some point, but the woman declined to speak to the NHL.
“This task [of investigating] was complex because of a variety of factors,” Bettman said. “Not the least of which was that our authority had limitations, the volume of information, the passage of time and the fact that other investigations were going on at the same time,” referencing Hockey Canada and the London police.
For now at least, the NHL and NHLPA appear committed to a holding pattern.
“This is [about] charges pending,” NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said Friday. “It’s an investigation that will now enter the courts and I’m going to leave it there. These players are innocent before proven guilty. Obviously, the circumstances on the case are challenging and waiting to see how this plays out is really important.”
Walsh said after the court proceedings, “then you can have the conversation” about what might happen next with these players. The primary focus for all involved now is on handling the criminal proceedings ahead.
“I think those players are probably focused on themselves and their defense right now,” Walsh said. “I don’t think they’re focused on necessarily hockey, so I’ll leave it at that.”
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski contributed to this report.
The 150th running of the Preakness won’t have the fanfare of previous years.
There will be no Triple Crown on the line and no rematch of the 1-2 finishers in the Kentucky Derby after trainer Bill Mott elected to point Sovereignty toward the Belmont and bypass the Preakness.
Just three horses who ran in the Kentucky Derby will run in the Preakness on Saturday — Journalism, who finished second to Sovereignty, American Promise (16th) and Sandman (seventh). Nine horses will enter the race, including several newcomers to the Triple Crown trail.
Top storylines
While a Kentucky Derby winner skipping the Preakness is a rarity over the history of the race, it’s become more common in recent years. Country House, who won the 2019 Kentucky Derby after Maximum Security was disqualified, was not entered into the race by Mott due to a cough. Other ailments ended his career early and he never raced again.
Rich Strike was not entered in the 2022 Preakness and neither was 2021 winner Mandaloun, who was not declared the official winner of the Kentucky Derby until Medina Spirit was officially disqualified after failing a postrace drug test.
The modern order of the Triple Crown races, with the Kentucky Derby first and the Belmont last, was established permanently in 1932, with some exceptions. Notable Kentucky Derby winners who skipped the second leg are: Grindstone (1996, career-ending injury), Spend a Buck (1985), Gato Del Sol (1982), Tomy Lee (1959), Swaps (1955), Determine (1954), Hill Gail (1952), Count Turf (1951) and Lawrin (1938).
This will be the final Preakness run at Pimlico for several years, as the 155-year-old track is set to undergo renovations for the next several years, including the replacement of the current grandstand for a smaller version. The Preakness will move to Laurel Park until renovations are complete.
Betting the Preakness
by Katherine Terrell
What’s the big draw now that the Kentucky Derby winner is out of the race? Journalism, who went off as the betting favorite in the race, gets a chance for redemption.
While putting Journalism on top of our Kentucky Derby bets didn’t quite pan out, he’s certainly going to be a worthy, and heavy, favorite in this race. Don’t take his second-place finish as a knock on his talent — he’s the most accomplished horse in this field.
What about Sandman, who drew significant attention in the Kentucky Derby due to his name? Sandman was named after the Metallica Song “Enter Sandman,” and the band recently posted a video cheering him on ahead of the Preakness.
Sandman’s trainer Mark Casse said the horse had tender feet going into his last race, causing him to sport glue-on shoes, but he has since been switched back to normal horseshoes. Sandman is a closer, meaning he would need a fast pace up front to be able to pass tiring horses and win this race.
Some of the more intriguing newcomers are Goal Oriented, trained by Bob Baffert and Steve Asmussen trainee Clever Again. Both are lightly raced, and bettors who are looking for better odds than Journalism provides might hope one of these two horses takes a step forward.
That’s the same situation as Gosger, who is 20-1 on the morning line but recently won the Grade III Lexington Stakes. He will also have to take a step forward or hope Journalism runs poorly off two weeks rest.
Journalism can sit back off the pace and hope the leaders get into a speed duel, a possibility with a lot of speed in the race. Either way, he’ll be a tough favorite to bet.
About the above chart: A Beyer number is a ratings system for speed during races. Some think horses need at least one race where they run a 95 Beyer number or over to be competitive in the Derby. Many of these horses have races where they’ve run over a 100 Beyer number or better.
The logical bet: Journalism to win (8-5) but will require a large bet to get a decent return.
The slightly better odds bet: Clever Again to win (5-1)
Two suggested bets:
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Exacta box: Journalism/Clever Again
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Trifecta: Journalism over Clever Again over River Thames, Gosger.
Best plays
by Anita Marks
No. 2 Journalism (8-5) is favored and rightfully so. He ran a great race in the Derby, but Sovereignty was just the better horse that day. With such a small field (nine horses), along with his pedigree, Journalism should dominate.
Other horses I fancy in the Preakness:
Clever Again (5-1) is a unique animal with a lot of talent. I believe he is the second-best horse in the race. Son of American Pharaoh — who won the Triple Crown — and trained by Steve Asmussen, an excellent trainer. He is super fast, is in great form and is training well.
Goal Oriented (6-1): A Bob Baffert horse. and will have one of the best jockeys on his back in Flavien Prat. He has the speed to come out of the No. 1 post and will be sent hard. Son of Not This Time and was the winner of a 1 1/16-mile race on the Kentucky Derby undercard. This will be his third race.
Preakness Plays:
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To win or place: Clever Again
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Exacta box: Goal Oriented, Journalism, Clever Again
After building a 2-0 lead on the Florida Panthers in their second-round series, the Toronto Maple Leafs are now down 3-2 leading into Friday’s Game 6 (8 p.m. ET, TNT).
Will this be the final game of the Maple Leafs’ season? Or will they force a Game 7 on Sunday?
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, a recap of what went down in Thursday’s games and the three stars of Thursday from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers
Game 6 | 8 p.m. ET | TNT
With the Panthers up 3-2 in the series, ESPN BET now lists them as -800 to win this series, with the Maple Leafs at +500. Florida’s Stanley Cup odds are now +300, while Toronto’s are +2500.
The Panthers are 5-1 all time when leading 3-2 in a seven-game series. The only loss came in the 2012 playoffs against the Devils. The Maple Leafs are 6-18 all time when trailing a series 3-2.
In Game 5, 14 different Panthers registered points, which is the most players to do so in a single playoff game in franchise history. Florida has had 17 different players score a goal this postseason, which breaks a single-postseason franchise record set in 1996.
With his fourth multipoint game of the playoffs, the Panthers’ Sam Reinhart is one of six players to hit that benchmark in the 2025 playoffs.
The Panthers have not trailed for 170:10 of game time since Carter Verhaeghe‘s tying goal 5:17 into the second period of Game 3.
Toronto’s Auston Matthews has zero goals in his past five games, which ties the longest goalless drought of his playoff career (other occurrences were in 2021 and 2023).
Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz is likely out for Game 6, turning the crease back over to Joseph Woll, who gave up five goals on 25 shots in Game 5.
Öcal’s three stars from Thursday
The likely Vezina Trophy winner made 22 saves in a 4-0 win, which is his second straight home shutout in this series.
Scheifele scored the opening goal in Game 5 and added an assist on Nikolaj Ehlers‘ power-play goal in the second. He now has three goals in potential elimination games, which is the most in Thrashers/Jets 2.0 franchise history.
Andersen has been great for the Canes. He gave up just one goal on 19 shots in the series-clinching win over the Capitals, and allowed just six goals total in the Hurricanes’ five games against Washington.
Thursday’s recaps
Carolina Hurricanes 3, Washington Capitals 1
CAR wins 4-1, plays winner of TOR-FLA
With a spot in the Eastern Conference finals on the line for Carolina — and a continuation to at least Game 6 the motivation for the Capitals — the two teams battled in an inspired contest. Canes captain Jordan Staal got on the board first, but Washington’s Anthony Beauvillier answered four minutes later. The teams remained tied 1-1 until less than two minutes remaining when Andrei Svechnikov fired one past Logan Thompson. With the net empty, the Caps could not get the equalizer, and Seth Jarvis sealed the deal with an empty-netter with 27 seconds to play. Carolina now awaits the winner of Maple Leafs-Panthers in the conference finals. Full recap.
0:38
Seth Jarvis’ goal secures series win for Canes
Seth Jarvis notches a clutch goal to to secure the series win over the Capitals.
Winnipeg Jets 4, Dallas Stars 0
DAL leads 3-2 | Game 6 Saturday
Needing a win to remain alive, the Jets got an emphatic one, backstopped by a 22-save shutout by Connor Hellebuyck. Mark Scheifele got Winnipeg on the board first, with his fourth goal of the playoffs at 6:17 of the second period. Nikolaj Ehlers added a power-play tally 2:20 into the third, with Vladislav Namestnikov joining the party at 12:07. With the net empty for Dallas, Ehlers added an empty-netter to cap things off and send Winnipeg fans home happy. Dallas has another chance to finish the series off at home Saturday — if not, Game 7 will be Monday, back in Winnipeg. Full recap.
0:42
Nikolaj Ehlers’ empty-netter secures Game 5 for the Jets
Nikolaj Ehlers scores the game-sealing empty-netter to secure the Game 5 win for the Jets over the Stars.
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