Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson on Tuesday evening addressed the recent controversy surrounding Corey Perry. The team earlier in the day took the decision to place the veteran winger on waivers culminating in the termination of his contract following his mysterious absence from training last week.
Speaking to the media, Davidson addressed the matter while clarifying that the decision behind Perry's release was down to an internal team-based matter:
"First and foremost, I want to start off by reiterating that the organization is committed to a culture of accountability and upholding our values across our employees, players, both on-and-off the ice. Last week, management was notified of possible misconduct by Cory Perry. We immediately pulled him from the game and conducted an internal investigation."
The 35-year-old Blackhawks GM went on to add further,
"Upon learning the findings of the investigation, we made the decision to terminate his contract. As this is an individual personnel matter, I will not be able to disclose any details related to the initial reporting of the investigation and its findings."
Davidson though made it clear that Perry's release was not linked to a viral rumor which spread like wildfire through social media platforms last night,
"However, I do want to be very clear on this one point. This does not involve any players or their families and anything that suggests otherwise or anyone that suggests otherwise is wildly inaccurate and frankly is disgusting... This was a workplace matter."
The Blackhawks GM refused to get into the details of the matter and maintained that the decision was based on matters strictly related to the organization.
Entire timeline of Corey Perry and his mysterious unavailability
Last Thrusday, Corey Perry was left out of the Blackhawks' team practice with little information as to why he wasn't on the ice with his teammates. On Saturday, GM Kyle Davidson revealed that the veteran would be away for "the foreseeable future."
Perry's agent, Pat Morris, though delivered a statement that directly contradicted the GM's statement:
"Corey Perry has stepped away from the Chicago Blackhawks to attend to personal matters. Corey and his family appreciate privacy at this time."
This led many to speculate as to what really went down between the two parties. Various rumors started spreading online regarding the matter before the team finally decided to announce their decision to place Corey Perry on waivers.
With the team yet to disclose exactly what went down, little is know about the incident that prompted the Blackhawks management to take such a drastic decision.