Yeah. It's more about the timing. Seems unlikely to be resolved by the start of this season, not to mention we won't know if case is on appeal until late August. The league already did its own investigation in the wake of the civil suit and Hockey Canada's settlement [and these players remain suspended by HC too].
The question is can they fast-track any additional process because of the criminal case, and the exculpatory outcome. I think the judge's strong statements from the bench may work in the players' favor; at the same time, if you're Bettman and you just read the court transcripts I think you find plenty of reason to still issue discipline and the players may actually want to get more of a proper hearing from the league to mount more of a defense internally.
For me the most compelling argument against the NHL being too harsh is that all of these events happened before any of these players played a single game in the NHL, even if they'd been drafted and signed in most cases. As someone who thinks the legal system rarely serves victims of sexual assault well, and also thinks that hockey culture still has a long way to go, it would not bother me if they feel they need to make an example of them to some extent, but it's definitely not the same as if these incidents had occurred when they were NHL players.
Of course, had that been the case, it probably would have gone to trial the first time.
