Almost two years after resigning their positions from NHL teams in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal, former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and former coach Joel Quenneville “met with league general managers and coaches” on Friday, according to Eric Engels of SPORTSNET.ca. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that “neither were mandated to be at the meeting” in Chicago, but were “given the opportunity to be there ‘to tell everybody about their experience and lessons learned.’” Bettman said, “It wasn’t something that they were told they needed to do. We said, ‘If you’d like the opportunity to address the group, you could have it.’” He “declined to comment on what Bowman and Quenneville said.” Bettman: “I still have to make a judgment as to when or whether it’s appropriate for them to be reinstated, so that’s not a question I’m prepared to answer right now.” Engels noted some attendees of Friday’s meeting did “share what they took away from the conversation.” Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong said, “That was about leadership and responsibility and about, if something does come up, how to handle things thoroughly.” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said, “You’ve got to address it, you’ve got to communicate it to people that are above, but you also follow up and make sure there’s actions taking place. I think with where we are as a society, I don’t think there’s any more secrets. I think we’ve all gotta be better. If you bring stuff up, you have to make sure to follow up and make sure that actions are taking care of it” (SPORTSNET.ca, 9/8).
