CHICAGO – At the moment, Brad Aldrich’s name remains on the Stanley Cup as a member of the 2009-2010 championship Blackhawks’ team.
Now the team is officially trying to change that.
WGN has confirmed that Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz has sent a letter to the Hockey Hall of Fame requesting that they removed the former video coach’s name from the Stanley Cup.
Aldrich was at the center of the team’s sexual assault allegations controversy that was detailed in the Jenner and Block report, leading to a number of changes with the Blackhawks and the NHL.


“Aldrich’s involvement with the team during the 2010 season has cast a pall on the players’ extraordinary work that year. The names of some of hockey’s most talented athletes appear on the Stanley Cup. But so does the name “Brad Aldrich,” whose role as video coach made him eligible for the engraving. His conduct disqualified him, however, and it was a mistake to submit his name. We are sorry we allowed it to happen,” said Wirtz in the letter.
It’s pointed out that there is precedent for “x-ing” his name off the Stanley Cup, as the NHL did so with the 1983-1984 Edmonton Oilers. Basil Pocklington, the father of owner Peter Pocklington, was added to the Stanley Cup but was later removed since he didn’t contribute to the team that year.
In the recently released Jenner and Block report, it was found that Aldrich had a “sexual encounter” with former Blackhawks forward Kyle Beach, who revealed himself to be the John Doe in the report on Tuesday. That happened on May 8th or 9th, 2010 and members of the Blackhawks management, including former team president John McDonough, former general manager Stan Bowman, and former head coach Joel Quenneville were informed about it on May 23rd, following Game 4 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals.
At that meeting, per the report, it was determined that the team would wait to take action on Aldrich until the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, allowing the coach to take part in the finals series with Philadelphia and the championship celebration.
Aldrich also made a sexual advance at a 22-year old intern on June 10th after the team won the Stanley Cup, per the Jenner and Block report. The Blackhawks’ human relations department was told of the allegations on June 14th and Aldrich resigned soon after.
The full investigation by Jenner and Block can be read by clicking here. (Warning: Documents contain graphic descriptions).