Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters, accused of making racial slurs toward a former player, now is facing other allegations from other players including one he coached with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Former Canes defenseman Michal Jordan said Tuesday on Twitter that Peters kicked him and also punched another player, who Jordan did not identify, during a game. Jordan, a native of the Czech Republic, last played for the Canes in the 2015-16 season and now plays for Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL.
Jordan's tweet said: "Never wish anything bad to the person but you get what you deserve Bill. After years making it to the NHL had experience with the worst coach ever. Kicking me and punching another player to the head during the game then pretending like nothing happened ... couldn't (sic) believe my eyes what can happen in the best league."
Jordan's comment came a day after former defenseman Akim Aliu tweeted Peters "dropped the N bomb several times towards me in the dressing room in my rookie year because he didn't like my choice of music." Aliu's tweet did not mention Peters by name but referred to him as the "protege" of Mike Babcock, the coach fired last week by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Aliu, born in Nigeria, played for Peters in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. The IceHogs are an affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Aliu's allegations, posted on Twitter, came Monday night while the Flames were playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh. Calgary general manager Brad Treliving said after the game that the team would investigate the allegations, saying they were being taken seriously.
Peters was not made available to the media after the game. He was not at the Flames team practice Tuesday, creating speculation he had been fired, but Treliving said later the team investigation continues.
Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour was an assistant coach under Peters in the four years Peters was at Carolina. Asked Tuesday if he had seen any evidence of Peters using racial slurs toward or about a player, or bullying a player, Brind'Amour said:
"That's a tough one. I don't think I can comment on stuff like that. First of all, I don't really know what's been said. That's not our issue to deal with. Calgary, their GM said they're looking into it. They've got to get to the bottom of it, obviously that's a serious thing. But that's their issue to deal with."
Canes captain Jordan Staal and defenseman Jaccob Slavin declined to comment Tuesday when asked about Peters and the Aliu allegations. The Canes left after practice to fly to New York, where they will play the Rangers on Wednesday.
Peters, 53, was hired by former Canes general manager Ron Francis in June 2014 and coached through the 2017-18 season. Tom Dundon became majority owner in January 2018, and Peters resigned April 18, 2018 with a year left on his contract after the Canes again failed to reached the playoffs.
Peters rarely displayed flashes of anger with the media present but on one occasion was discussing a poor game by former goalie Eddie Lack with the media, stopping and yelling an obscenity in the direction of Lack's locker stall at PNC Arena.
