The Chicago Blackhawks plan to terminate Corey Perry’s contract.
The NHL team placed the 38-year-old Canadian winger on unconditional waivers in a move toward terminating his contract, the organization announced Tuesday in a statement.
The decision comes after an internal investigation into Perry, who joined the team in June after two seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
According to the statement, Perry “engaged in conduct that is unacceptable and violates both the terms of his standard player contract and the Blackhawks’ internal policies designed to promote professional and safe work environments.”
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“As such, Corey Perry has been placed on unconditional waivers,” it continued. “In the event that Mr. Perry approves the waiver, we intend to terminate his contract immediately.”
The team did not specify what “conduct” Perry engaged in to warrant these actions, and a representative for the Blackhawks did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, the team’s general manager, Kyle Davidson, provided more information about the situation at a press conference — and shut down social media rumors that Perry’s departure involved his teammates or their families.
“Since this is an individual personnel matter, I will not be able to release any details related to the initial reporting, investigation or findings,” Davidson said in a conference call broadcast live by NBC Sports Chicago.
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“However, I want to be very clear on this matter: this does not involve the players or their families,” he continued. “Anything that suggests otherwise or anyone who suggests otherwise is grossly inaccurate and frankly disgusting.”
The Blackhawks have terminated the contract of winger Corey Perry.
Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty
Elsewhere in the conference, Davidson called the situation a “workplace thing” and said “the players don’t have any details at all.”
“Over the last 24 hours, what happened was very disturbing and I feel like I’m carrying it,” he said. “It’s just hard to see.”
The CEO also clarified the timeline of events leading up to Perry’s investigation, telling reporters, “Last week, management was made aware of possible misconduct by Corey Perry.”
“We immediately pulled him from the game and conducted an internal investigation,” he said, referring to the team’s decision to list Perry as a scratch for the Nov. 22 game.
“Based on the findings of the investigation, we made the decision to terminate his contract,” Davidson reiterated.
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As the first pick of the 2003 draft, Perry is described in his official NHL biography as “one of the NHL’s greatest agitators”.
“He got under the skin of opponents by doing things like spraying water into opponents’ gloves and grabbing their bats,” according to the biography.
Perry played with the Anaheim Ducks for the first 14 years of his 19-year NHL career and won the 2007 Stanley Cup with the team. He has since played for the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Lightning and Blackhawks, scoring 421 goals and 471 assists in a total of 1,273 career games.
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