Yesterday, the story about how ex-NHLer Rick Tocchet and some of his associates ran a nationwide gambling rink fell into a familiar pattern. After 36 hours of revelations and shock, all the players have collected themselves and talked with their lawyers.
From here on in, with some possible exceptions (like when we get the names of the players who placed bets with Tocchet's operation), new information will be released from official sources, so everybody involved will know what's coming before a reporter calls or puts a microphone in their face -- which means we won't see anything like Wayne Gretzky's impromptu Tuesday session with the media, which was an object lesson in what not to do in crisis PR.
Here's an interesting aside from Tom Benjamin:
Who does Gretzky think he is kidding? I wondered about Wayne's ability to pick his friends and partners when Bruce McNall went down, and I'm wondering again. At best, Tocchet is guilty of extreme stupidity. At worst... And the "You'll have to ask her" response to questions about his wife was beyond lame.
For those of you unfamiliar with McNall, click here.
Here's what happened yesterday:
Rick Tocchet did fly to the New York area, but delayed his visit to NHL HQ by a few hours so he could talk to his lawyer in Northern New Jersey. Later, Tocchet's counsel released a statement claiming that his client was innocent.
Later, we found out that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had hired the former Federal prosecutor who put the Unabomber behind bars, Robert J. Cleary, to conduct the league's own investigation into the matter.
I guess that makes Tocchet the "Unabookie".
Finally, close to Midnight, the league announced that it had granted Tocchet an indefinite leave of absence with some interesting elements:
Tocchet, who works under Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky, must immediately cease all contact and communication with all NHL and team personnel and stay away for the duration of his leave. He will not be allowed to return without Bettman's consent.The commissioner also reserves the right to change the terms of Tocchet's absence at any time.
''We view the charges against Mr. Tocchet in the most serious terms,'' Bettman said in a statement. ''We have pledged our full cooperation to the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.
''While we are conducting our own investigation, we have made clear to the law enforcement authorities in New Jersey that we will do nothing to interfere with their ongoing investigation.''
In other words, don't call us, we'll call you. My guess is that Tocchet will never sniff the inside of an NHL rink, much less a locker room, for the rest of his life -- no matter what the outcome of his legal troubles.
What does it all mean? Here's James Mirtle:
Can you, as a hockey fan, ignore this story outright? Definitely. The games are going to continue to be played and the great plays will be added to a season already full of highlights. Hockey's popularity in the United States is also not likely to suffer much, at least where the dollar amounts are concerned.But charges such as these speak to something that's within hockey, something we
