In the end, it wasn't that serious, it seemed.
On November 28, the Chicago Blackhawks chased veteran forward Corey Perry out of their organization. They banned him, Mano Military, after a third-party investigation revealed he had adopted him Unacceptable behavior that violates the provisions of his contract as well as the team’s internal policies aimed at creating a professional and safe work environment
.
Perry clearly behaved badly towards someone he met at his workplace. Due to the ugly rumors circulating on social media, the Blackhawks insisted on the fact that the actions of which Perry was accused were not committed against a teammate or a member of his teammate's family.
The results of the investigation were so clear that the Blackhawks didn't just suspend Perry or grant him waivers. They simply terminated his contract. Whether in the NHL or in the workplace in general, this punishment can only be imposed (legally) after a serious crime has been committed.
Furthermore, given that the player targeted by this extraordinary penalty had 1,273 games of NHL experience and appeared to be headed straight to the Hall of Fame, it was a given that the Blackhawks did not make such a decision lightly and that the NHL was informed in advance.
To remember how serious this incident was, just watch the photos of the press conference Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson gave to announce his decision. His tone is serious, as he stands in front of a black curtain, and Davidson is overcome with emotion on several occasions.
As for Corey Perry, he published a press statement in which he admitted his bad behavior Bad and inappropriate
. The latter had announced at the same time that he would seek help to overcome the problem of alcohol abuse and ensure that the mistake he committed would not be repeated.
But with the NHL being what it is now, 41 days later, the Blackhawks' leaders appear to be clumsy.
***
As Elliott Friedman revealed, Corey Perry stopped by to see Gary Bettman last Tuesday at the NHL offices in New York. It seems that Perry has complete freedom to sign a new contract with the team of his choice.
Perry has not been officially suspended by the league. But everyone in the community knew they would never play again without first getting Bateman's blessing. Which has been done.
This must be explained.
Less than six weeks after committing a conduct error serious enough to warrant a $4 million contract termination, how can Perry receive a friendly pat on the back from the commissioner?
We're talking here about an association, remember, that has set up a special phone line to allow employees in all organizations to denounce toxic behavior.
We are talking here about a league in which the coach in 2019 (Bill Peters) “resigned” because he said the word that begins with no
Ten years ago, while managing a team in the American League.
We're talking about the same league in which Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray was forced to leave his position because his subordinates complained about his tantrums.
In the same league, Mike Babcock recently lost his job, even before he led a practice session for the Blue Jackets, because he spied on the contents of his players' phones.
When Perry was fired, I was the first to write that the Blackhawks handled the matter according to the rules of the art. I had also added that his secrecy victim
It overshadowed all other considerations, and therefore, the amateurs were not necessarily right to demand to know the exact reasons for his dismissal.
But now that Gary Bettman has reopened that Pandora's box, there's nowhere to hide.
***
With Gary Bettman's blessing already given, it's very likely that many teams will want to sign Corey Perry to finish out the season.
If any of them choose to move forward, their leaders will have to work hard in their corners before making that announcement. Because you cannot hire someone who has been punished for unacceptable behavior without providing correct explanations.
To be convinced, perhaps general managers tempted to hire Corey Perry should make a call to the Canadian leaders, who have been busy in 2021 after selecting Logan Maillox in the draft.
Or even to the leaders of the Boston Bruins, who were disowned by their players, in November 2022, after agreeing to the contract with Mitchell Miller. The latter, a bully, attacked a disabled young man for a long time.
Furthermore, if we wanted to provide correct explanations, we would logically have to reveal what Corey Perry did with the Blackhawks. It will be necessary to explain why his new organization found that we could compromise or conceal its past actions, while Black Hawk considered the situation completely unacceptable.
Finally, for his potential reintegration into the NHL to be accepted, Corey Perry will have to fix his mistake and/or prove that he is trustworthy again. And everyone will agree that 41 days is a very short period of time to achieve all of this.
In short, unless the Blackhawks fire him for some crazy reason, a team that drafts Corey Perry will risk setting themselves up for a good PR crisis.
So it will be interesting to see if the team will actually dare to employ him, after careful consideration.
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