Brendan Leipsic’s career with the Washington Capitals has come to an embarrassing end.
The Capitals announced Friday they have placed Leipsic on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract, two days after several social media messages leaked that showed the 25-year-old using foul and sexist language to degrade women as well as taking shots at his own teammates.
When screenshots of the vulgar comments made the rounds on social media Wednesday and Leipsic deleted his Instagram account, a team spokesman said the team was aware of the issue and called the comments “unacceptable and offensive.”
Leipsic signed with Washington last offseason on a one-year deal, making the Capitals his fifth NHL team in five years. He spent most of the season on the fourth line with Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway — about whom he said, “(Expletive) they’re losers,” in one of the leaked messages.
Jack Rodewald, a winger in the Florida Panthers’ system, was also linked to the group chat Leipsic was in. The NHL released a statement Wednesday responding to the content of the leaked messages.
“The National Hockey League strongly condemns the misogynistic and reprehensible made by players Brendan Leipsic and Jack Rodewald in a private group chat that has surfaced on social media,” the statement said. “There is no place in our League for such statements, attitudes and behavior, no matter the forum. We will address this inexcusable conduct with the clubs and players involved.”
Leipsic later confirmed he’d written the messages and issued an apology in which he said he was “committed” to becoming a better person.
“Yesterday my friend’s Instagram account was hacked and an individual circulated images that are representative of private conversations I was a part of,” Leipsic wrote. “I fully recognize how inappropriate and offensive these comments are and sincerely apologize to everyone for my actions. I am committed to learning from this and becoming a better person by taking time to determine how to move forward in an accountable, meaningful way. I am truly sorry.”
Leipsic fell out of the regular lineup after the Capitals acquired Ilya Kovalchuk and before the 2019-20 season was suspended due to the coronavirus. In the event that the season resumes, the Capitals still will have 13 forwards without Leipsic.
Leipsic’s younger brother Jeremy also participated in the group chat and was kicked off the University of Manitoba hockey team for using similar language.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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