Chicago Blackhawks GM Davidson puts one rumour to rest in Corey Perry mystery
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Kyle Davidson had a lot of explaining to Corey Perry’s sudden and shocking end as a Chicago Blackhawk.
The young general manager stickhandled around specifics but led off a Tuesday afternoon news conference by quashing an online rumour that the veteran’s imminent contract termination is tied to misconduct involving the family of No. 1 draft pick Conor Bedard.
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“This does not involve any player or their families,” Davidson said in Chicago. “Anything that suggests otherwise and anyone who suggests otherwise is wildly inaccurate. And it’s frankly disgusting.”
That said, Davidson shed little light on exactly what happened last week when Perry was pulled from the lineup. Asked if there was criminality involved, he stressed the team’s internal investigation had determined it to be a “workplace” incident.
He did say the whole matter has been “very disturbing” and though he felt every bit as affected as anyone in the organization, he said the in-house review had to be completed before he was ready to address the media.
“We went through the process as quickly as we could,” he said, going back to last week when prior to a game in Columbus, the team became “notified of possible misconduct” by Perry.
On Wednesday afternoon, when Perry clears NHL waivers, the Hawks intend to terminate his one-year, $4-million contract.
The storm clouds in the Windy City gathered a week ago when coach Luke Richardson made Perry an unexplained scratch in Columbus, then again two days later versus Toronto, a game Chicago rallied to win in overtime.
The next day Davidson said Perry would be away from the team for the foreseeable future, followed quickly by agent Pat Morris’ assertion his client was dealing with personal matters.
A statement from the team on Tuesday morning said that its internal investigation determined “that Perry has engaged in conduct that is unacceptable and in violation of terms of his contract and the Blackhawks internal policies to promote professional and safe work environments.”
Those guidelines are being scrutinized much more closely after the Hawks were accused of trying to cover up Kyle Beach’s allegations he was sexually assaulted by team video coach Brad Aldrich a decade earlier. Beach launched a lawsuit against the Hawks that was settled at Christmas of 2021. Aldrich was arrested and pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor in 2013. The NHL fined the Hawks $2-million US and only now have Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville, the respective GM and coach of the Hawks in 2010, are getting consideration to return to work in the NHL after being sidelined a couple of years.
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