Gary Bettman and the NHL have been slow to react to the 2018 Canadian  World Juniors investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman by multiple players, and the commissioner said he will not release the league's finding from its investigation until the official judicial proceedings have been completed by the London, Ontario police.

Bettman made his remarks at the start of a press conference, starting off by saying the details of the incident were “abhorrent, reprehensible, horrific and unacceptable.” Nevertheless, Bettman did not provide any of the details that came from the NHL's investigation of the incident.

Philadelphia Flyers' goalie Carter Hart, New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube and former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton (playing in Switzerland) have all left their teams in January. Lawyers for the players have professed their innocence in regards to the incident.

According to published reports, London police are expected to hold their own news conference to discuss the issue February 5.

“There's a serious judicial process that looks like it's unfolding,” the commissioner said. “And we didn't, while we were doing our investigation, want to interfere with what the London Police Service was doing. And we're not going to do anything to interfere with or influence the judicial proceedings. We're all going to have to see how that plays out.”

Gary Bettman did reveal that the alleged victim in the incident was not questioned by the NHL.

He explained that the players who have recently left their teams are still getting paid, and he expects that to continue after the London police hold their press conference.