Blackhawks give vague answers on why Perry was released

Corey Perry. Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Blackhawks give vague answers on why Corey Perry's contract was terminated

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 11/28/23

The Chicago Blackhawks abruptly pulled veteran Corey Perry from the lineup before their Nov. 22 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and did not play him in any games after, only saying he would be away from the team due to a personal matter.

On Tuesday, the Blackhawks placed him on waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract for what the team called "conduct that is unacceptable, and in violation of both the terms of his Standard Player’s Contract and the Blackhawks’ internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments."

General manager Kyle Davidson held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon and could not go into much detail.

Kyle Davidson's full opening statement: pic.twitter.com/Qn8xKonDzI
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) November 28, 2023

The Blackhawks signed Perry this offseason to try and bring some veteran leadership to a young rebuilding team that has one of the games brightest young stars in rookie Connor Bedard. He had been off to a strong start with nine total points (four goals, five assists) in his first 16 games.

The team will not get much benefit of the doubt here from the court of public opinion given the way the team fumbled the Brad Aldrich sexual assault investigation in 2010 and worked to cover it up.

But Davidson said after the team was notified of an incident involving Perry, they immediately removed him from the lineup and began investigating the claim. Following that investigation the team decided to terminate his contract.

Fans are still left with a lot of questions given the circumstances and how vague the Blackhawks have been. There are almost certainly legal issues that are preventing them from being more clear, but the important thing is they worked to remove him from the situation as soon as possible.

The 38-year-old Perry has appeared in 1,273 regular season games, scoring 421 goals, 471 assists and 892 total points as a member of the Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Blackhawks. Chicago plays Tuesday night at home against the Seattle Kraken.

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