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Capitals set to terminate Leipsic’s contract following social media comments

NHL: JAN 31 Capitals at Senators

OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 31: Washington Capitals Left Wing Brendan Leipsic (28) during warm-up before National Hockey League action between the Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators on January 31, 2020, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

(UPDATE: Leipsic has cleared waivers and his contract has been terminated.)

When the Capitals resume playing, Brendan Leipsic will not be part of the team.

The team announced on Friday that they have placed Leipsic on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract after comments he made on social media were leaked. The 25-year-old forward signed a one-year, $700,000 deal signed in July..

A Instagram group chat which featured Leipsic, Panthers prospect Jack Rodewald and others surfaced online this week and showed them making inappropriate comments about the appearances of Tanner Pearson’s wife, Meaghan, and Connor McDavid’s girlfriend, Lauren Kyle, and other women. He also made disparaging comments about current and former teammates.

Leipsic released an apology via his Twitter account Wednesday night:

“Yesterday my friend’s Instagram account was hacked and an individual circulated images that are representative of private conversations I was a part of,” he 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.”

Chloe Giesbrecht and another women who did not want to give her name spoke with Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun about the comments.

“If people keep practising that, this is just going to be a continuous cycle of these group chats and this misogynistic hockey culture,” Giesbrecht said. “If people keep dismissing it, sexual assault is going to go up. All of that is going to skyrocket. They need more than just a slap on the wrist, which is what I’m worried they’re going to get. I would like to see all of their sports careers gone.”

On Thursday, Leipsic’s brother, Jeremey, was kicked off the University of Manitoba hockey team for his part in the lewd group chat.

The NHL condemned the “misogynistic and reprehensible remarks” in their own statement.

“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.”

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.