Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warm-up jerseys for Pride Night on Sunday, according to a report ... citing security concerns for their Russian players after the country passed an anti-LGBTQ law making it illegal to promote "gay propaganda" in Russia.

According to the Associated Press, the Blackhawks -- who've worn Pride warmup jerseys before -- ultimately decided against wearing the jerseys this season for the April 12 celebration after consulting with security officials ... who took into account president Vladimir Putin's newly-expanded law which makes it illegal for anyone to promote gay relationships as "normal."

Of course, the Blackhawks call Chicago home ... but the team has several Russian players on the roster, including defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, who is a Moscow native. There are also players on the team with family members living in Russia.

Chicago's decision comes just days after San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer refused to participate in his team's Pride event, saying his Christian beliefs won't allow him to wear a Pride-themed jersey.

“I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and follow him," Reimer said. "I have no hate in my heart for anyone, and I have always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect and kindness.

"In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life. I strongly believe that every person has value and worth, and the LGBTQIA+ community, like all others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey."

As for the Blackhawks, they have yet to officially announce the decision.

The Chicago Blackhawks game against the Jets was postponed last Wednesday, so players Caleb Jones and Connor Murphy attempted to have a nice dinner ... but while in the restaurant, thieves allegedly stuck up the valet and jacked both players cars, TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us 24-year-old Jones and 28-year-old Murphy were having dinner just blocks from the United Center on December 29 around 8 PM. We're told while the men were inside, thieves approached the valet and stuck an unknown object in their back, demanding the car keys.

Murphy's 2017 Porsche Panamera and Jones' 2021 Jeep Trackhawk were both taken. When new, the Panamera runs about $100K+ ... and the Trackhawk, $90K+.

Chicago police are currently investigating the alleged crimes.

It's unclear if Jones and Murphy were targeted ... or if the theft was random.

As for the player's careers ... Caleb, a defenseman, was the 117th overall pick (Edmonton Oilers) in the 2015 NHL Draft. He's played in 11 games for the Blackhawks this season ... his first with the organization.

Caleb comes from an athletic family. His brother Seth Jones is also a member of the Blackhawks ... and his dad is former NBA player, "Popeye" Jones.

Connor, also a defenseman, was the 20th overall pick of the Coyotes in 2011. He's played in 29 games for the team this season.

We reached out to the Blackhawks ... but so far, no word back.

Scary moment in the NHL on Tuesday ... Chicago Blackhawks winger Jujhar Khaira was knocked out after taking a violent shoulder to the face -- and he was eventually hospitalized.

The horrifying scene all went down in the second period of the Hawks' game against the Rangers in Chicago ... when Khaira was blindsided by New York star Jacob Trouba.

You can see in footage of the play, Khaira's head slammed hard off the ice after he took the hit ... and he was immediately knocked unconscious.

The 27-year-old laid motionless for several seconds -- and he was ultimately put on a stretcher and taken to a nearby medical facility.

Fortunately, the Blackhawks say Khaira is doing well ... with head coach Derek King telling media members, "He's up. He's talking. He's very responsive."

"I think he wants to get back on the ice," King added with a laugh.

Khaira -- who's played in 18 games for the Blackhawks this season -- is expected to undergo several more tests to figure out just how bad his injuries are.

The Chicago Blackhawks were just slapped with a massive $2,000,000 fine ... after the NHL said the organization failed to adequately investigate an alleged sexual assault involving a team coach and a young player back in 2010.

The NHL announced the financial penalty on Tuesday ... and it all dates back over a decade ago, when word got back to Hawks team brass that a player on their team -- who hasn't been identified publicly -- claimed he was sexually assaulted by the team's video coach.

The player -- identified as "John Doe" in a civil suit he filed in May 2021 -- claimed the coach, Brad Aldrich, said he wouldn't play in the NHL if he were to turn down the coaches sexual advances ... so, fearing losing his career, the player says he had a sexual encounter with Aldrich.

It's important to note ... Aldrich hasn't denied having a relationship with Doe, however, he's steadfastly said the encounter was consensual.

After the team found out, they assembled all of the bigwigs, including the president, senior VP, general manager, and head coach, among others, to discuss how to handle the situation.

Shockingly, despite the serious allegation, team officials decided to focus their attention on the team's play on the ice ... as they'd just advanced to the Stanley Cup finals.

The "investigation" was kicked to human resources ... though the NHL says it doesn't appear enough was ever done to address it.

FYI, the Blackhawks ended up winning the Stanley Cup that season.

Fast forward to June 2021 ... a Chicago area law firm was hired to look into the organizations handling of the situation, and their investigation determined the organization screwed up, essentially failing to investigate, despite the extremely troubling allegation.

Enter the NHL ... who as a result, levied the multi-million fine against the Blackhawks.

"Today’s fine represents a direct and necessary response to the failure of the Club to follow-up and address the 2010 incident in a timely and appropriate manner,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

“And, this response should send a clear message to all NHL Clubs and all NHL personnel that inappropriate acts must be addressed in a timely fashion."

Bettman says the organization knows they screwed up, and they've taken a number of steps to ensure they're better in the future.

“We acknowledge that the Blackhawks have taken responsibility and ownership for what transpired, and have already implemented new preventative measures."

Those changes include hiring outside counsel to dig into the 2010 incident, overhauling the club's policies, and educating staff on how to properly handle similar allegations.

The commissioner also noted that should any of the senior-level staff wish to return to the league (none of them are currently in the NHL), they will require approval directly from Bettman prior to their hiring.

The Blackhawks also released a statement accepting responsibility for the screwup, writing, "It is clear the organization and its executives at that time did not live up to our own standards or values in handling these disturbing incidents."

"We deeply regret the harm caused to John Doe and the other individuals who were affected and the failure to promptly respond. As an organization, we extend our profound apologies to the individuals who suffered from these experiences. We must -- and will -- do better."

As for the alleged victim ... Doe's civil lawsuit remains open.

Ex-NHL player Ray Emery was arrested last month for allegedly getting violent and threatening his then-fiancee Keshia Chante during a 2016 incident ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Emery was arrested Sept. 18 in Hamilton, Ontario, a rep for the John Sopinka Courthouse confirmed to us.

We're told Chante -- a singer and former host of BET's "106 & Park" -- had initially gone to authorities seeking a restraining order against Emery, claiming he had abused her several times from July '16 to Sept. '16.

Sources say Chante presented what she believed to be "hard proof" -- and cops determined there was enough evidence to warrant an arrest for assault.

Ultimately, Emery was taken into custody on Sept. 18 for assault with a weapon and uttering a threat. He was released on bail. He's due back in court later this month.

Emery played in the NHL for 11 years and won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. We're told he and Chante dated for 7 years. They were engaged until this summer when Chante publicly announced the wedding was off.

We've made several attempts to reach Emery for comment but they were unsuccessful.

Question: How drunk is too drunk at a hockey game?

Answer: When you sloppily fall out of your seat and crush the guy in front of you ... this according to a new lawsuit.

A guy named John Cooke is suing the Chicago Blackhawks claiming he was enjoying the game at the United Center on May 23rd ... until some drunk jerk sitting behind him got so hammered, he couldn't stand up straight.

The fan says people complained about the drunkard to security and arena staff -- but no one did anything.

Problem is ... when the Blackhawks scored a goal in the 1st period, the drunk fan lost his balance and fell down 2 rows, allegedly crushing Cooke in the process.

Cooke says he suffered injuries in the drunken disaster -- and he's suing the team and the United Center claiming the guy should have been kicked out long before he had a chance to fall on people.

The Chicago Blackhawks have announced they've suspended Garret Ross -- after learning he's being prosecuted in an alleged revenge porn case.

A hockey player drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks is being prosecuted over revenge porn -- after officials say he shared a sex photo of a woman he should have known was not meant for other eyes.

HOCKEY SMACK TALK!!!!

President Barack Obama stuck it to Canada this morning ... hitting the Prime Minister over the subject that hurts the most -- HOCKEY!!!!

Obama was with P.M. Justin Trudeau at the White House talking about things the two countries will never agree on. One of those things ... who's better at hockey.

When Trudeau sniped, "Don't get me started" ... Obama replied, "Where's the Stanley Cup right now?"

"I'm sorry, is it in my hometown with the Chicago Blackhawks?!"

BOOOOOM!!!!!!!

Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane will no longer be on the cover of EA's "NHL16" due to the criminal investigation he's now facing.

Kane was slated to be on the cover of the game for the second time but EA just released a statement saying they're pulling the plug.The company said he won't be on the cover and he also will not be involved in any promos for the game.

As we've reported ... Kane is under investigation for an alleged incident that went down with a woman in an Upstate NY bar.

The Chicago Blackhawks might be a little late to Thursday's victory parade ... because they were out on the town until the wee hours of the morning last night ... raging with champagne and TONS of chicks.

Kris Versteeg, Jonathan Toews and Stanley Cup Finals MVP Duncan Keith were among the players who hit up Studio Paris, a nightclub in downtown Chicago.

In the video, Versteeg can be seen spraying champagne all over the crowd ... and the people couldn't have been more thrilled to be doused.

But the best part might be on the way out when Toews walks out the door ... followed by roughly TEN CHICKS!

The Chicago Blackhawks brought a 6-pack to the Stanley Cup celebration -- with defenseman Johnny Oduya ripping his shirt off in the middle of a nightclub ... in a crazy celebrity turn up!

Oduya -- along with teammates Corey Crawford, Brandon Saad, Kris Versteeg and Scott Darling -- hit up The Mid nightclub in Chicago ... where they used Lord Stanley's favorite piece of silverware to sip expensive bubbly, like so many have before.

And who was supplying the beats? World famous DJ ($32 millon a year famous) Tiesto -- who pumped the club full of EDM and hip-hop hits while the crowd went insane!

At some point in the night Oduya's shirt came off ... dude's got some championship abs.

Check out the pics.

A small child was struck in the face with a bottle ... and appeared to be bleeding ... during the crazy Stanley Cup celebrations in Chicago last night.

The child -- unclear how old he is -- was carried to paramedics near Wrigley Field to be treated ... this according to the Washington Post.

So far, the kid's condition is unclear ... but it was just one part of the madness that took over the Windy City when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.

People swarmed the streets ... climbed traffic lights ... ripped down street signs ... and set off fireworks.

At least 5 people were arrested, according to the Chicago Tribune.

There's more ... in keeping with tradition, a bunch of fans toilet papered the home of Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville to celebrate.

Congrats?

The Chicago Blackhawks aren't holding a grudge against Justin Bieber for trampling their beloved logo yesterday -- a crime punishable by death in some fan circles -- telling TMZ, Bieber didn't realize he was violating intergalactic hockey law.

In case you didn't know, Bieber -- who is supposed to be Canadian -- was taking pictures of the Stanley Cup in the Blackhawks locker room when he stood squarely on the team's hallowed Native American head logo.

FYI, not only is it a HUGE Blackhawks superstition not to step on the logo ... it's also an unwritten rule on any hockey team: never tread on the team logo.

But a rep for the Blackhawks says it's water under the bridge -- telling us, Bieber "did accidentally step on the logo but was immediately asked to step off and was extremely sorry as soon as he realized what he did."

Justin Bieber is bringing sports fans together ... IN OUTRAGE -- because he dared to pose with Lord Stanley's trophy in the Chicago Blackhawks locker room!!!

A 'Hawks exec tweeted the pic last night of JB touching the Stanley Cup -- arguably the most revered trophy in sports -- with a customized Bieber jersey in the background.

The response was immediate ... and angry:
- If I see one more picture of bieber touching the cup I might just cut my own jugular #embarrassing

- And this is why I will kick the crap out of Justin Bieber! You do not touch the cup! You don't deserve to touch it!

- Bieber takin a pic w the cup and gettin a personalized blackhawks jersey is complete garbage. Where did your bruins flat brim go?

That last one refers to the night we spotted Bieber in a Boston Bruins cap ... right before they started playing the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.