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The Washington Capitals fired assistant coach Mitch Love following an NHL investigation and suspension that reportedly stemmed from domestic abuse allegations.
Love interviewed for several head coach openings this offseason. According to NHL reporter Frank Seravalli, an alleged victim reported domestic abuse to the league and the teams with coaching vacancies. (Neither the team nor league has confirmed the substance of the investigation or allegations.)
After its investigation, the league suspended Love for the season, and the Capitals subsequently fired him.
“Mitch Love has been relieved of his duties as an assistant coach, effective immediately,” the team announced on Sunday. “This decision follows the findings of an NHL-led investigation into past allegations. The organization is committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct and accountability.”
Love denies the allegations against him—which he didn’t specify—and said he looks forward to returning to hockey “as soon as possible.” “While I am disappointed by and disagree with the NHL’s decision, I respect the process and accept both the league’s findings and the Capitals’ decision,” the coach said in a statement to the Washington Post. “I will continue to openly cooperate throughout this process.”
The NHL said in a statement to Front Office Sports that it suspended Love for “conduct detrimental to the league” for the 2025–26 season, but it isn’t a permanent ban. Love can apply to be reinstated for next season depending on “certain conditions,” the league said.
The Capitals suspended Love, 41, in mid-September amid the league investigation. He joined the organization in 2023 after serving as head coach of the Flames’ AHL affiliate. Before that he coached in the Western Hockey League of the Canadian junior system.
Love’s suspension and firing come at a tense moment in the NHL for issues related to abuse and violence that are piling up at the start of the season.
Earlier this month, the Vegas Golden Knights signed goalkeeper Carter Hart, one of the five players involved in the high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. Though all defendants were acquitted, public scrutiny has continued; even the NHL called the players’ behavior “unacceptable.” When the Carolina Hurricanes showed interest in Hart and another player, Michael McLeod, fans threatened to pull their season tickets and boycott the team, and signs protesting the Hart signing showed up at Sunday’s Knights–Lightning game.
At the same time, coach Joel Quenneville is back in the NHL following his suspension for failing to act in 2010 when a Blackhawks player came forward with allegations of sexual abuse by a video coach. After a suspension and reinstatement, Quenneville is now in his first season as head coach of the Ducks.
“I could have been more forceful and asked more questions and gotten more involved in the details of what happened,” Quenneville said earlier this month in his return to Chicago. The coach said he hopes “others can learn from my inaction,” and emphasized he has apologized to player Kyle Beach, the player who was abused in Chicago, and expressed “how much I regret not following up and taking action.”
In September, the Blackhawks settled a lawsuit with another former player who came forward with sexual abuse allegations involving the same coach, who later spent time in prison for assaulting a 16-year-old high school player.
The Canucks also have a first-year head coach, Adam Foote, whose son Cal is one of the five acquitted players from the Hockey Canada trial.
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