Ex-Blackhawk says Patrick Kane, other top stars knew about Aldrich sex abuse claims

Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Boynton isn’t afraid to call out his past teammates.

On Wednesday, Boynton joined a Zoom meeting attended by the lawyers hired by the Blackhawks to share his recollection of abuse allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich during the team’s 2010 Stanley Cup championship run.

During the call, Boynton — who played seven games during that deep postseason run and 41 games the following season — said that many of the team’s top stars knew about the abuse over a decade ago, based on conversations they had in the locker room.

“They asked me who knew and I gave them names, basically everybody on the team,” Boynton told TSN on Wednesday.

“I said everybody fucking knew about it. I said you can talk to the coaches. …I said talk to Torch [former assistant coach John Torchetti]. I called out Brian Campbell, and said talk to Patrick Sharp and talk to Kaner [Patrick Kane]. …The training staff knew. I’m sick of this wall of silence.”

Former Chicago forward Jake Dowell was not so certain about Boynton’s recollection in a separate interview with TSN.

“It’s foggy to me,” Dowell said. “I remember after Brad was let go after 2010 we started to hear some rumblings, but I don’t know how much truth there was to it.”

More disturbing details of the alleged 2010 assault of an anonymous former player have recently been revealed in a lawsuit filed against the Blackhawks. Aldrich purportedly threatened a player with a souvenir baseball bat before forcing him to engage in nonconsensual sex, among some other horrendous allegations.

For Boynton, he hopes that the investigating law firm the Blackhawks hired a month ago, Jenner & Block, doesn’t soften any of the details.

“It sounds like they are going to do the best job they can do,” Boynton said. “I got a good feeling from them and I like to hope they do what they’re supposed to.”

NHL player agent Ritch Winter told TSN that he hasn’t been contacted by the law firm for his clients Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky, who were on those Blackhawks teams, to speak with the investigators and he would be recommending those players to speak with them if they ever do reach out.

Another former Blackhawks player, Brent Sopel, is declining any cooperation with Jenner & Block until they make it clear that they will make the report public after backing up Boynton’s statement that most of the team’s staff and players were aware of the abuse allegations back in 2010.

“…I’d say pretty much every player said ‘holy s—t’ and was shocked by it,” Sopel said. “We were all in the same dressing room. It was something that was discussed for at least two or three days. [Then head coach Joel] Quenneville was in the same office as [Aldrich]. We heard about it.”

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