Nick Foligno speaks to the difficulty processing the Corey Perry situation
originally appeared on
NBC Sports Chicago
Corey Perry’s time in Chicago is officially over.
The Blackhawks placed the veteran forward on waivers with the intention to terminate his contract with the team after an internal investigation found Perry engaged in conduct that is “unacceptable” to his contract and the Blackhawks’ organizational standards.
Following the team’s 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken at home on Tuesday, veteran forward Nick Foligno spoke about the difficulty the situation has provided the team.
“There’s a standard in this room and we all adhere to it,” Foligno said. “They [the organization] believe strongly in making sure that’s understood by all of us. It’s a hard day. Nobody wants to hear that news. We all care about Corey. But we understand there’s a standard we’re going to be held to.”
“It’s hard when you don’t have all the details to comment fully. But we care about the person and we care about this organization and they’re gonna do what’s best for all of us and we have to know that and understand there’s a standard we have to get to.”
MORE:
What happened with Corey Perry and the Chicago Blackhawks? What we know
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson addressed the media before Tuesday’s game at the United Center to talk about the situation. He was not able to share many details, but he did want to hammer home one thing.
“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, it’s disgusting,” Davidson said. “This has been a tough situation.”
Davidson declined to address specifics about the nature of the allegations, describing it as a “workplace matter” when asked if law enforcement would be involved in any investigation. He also said that it was a “team incident,” but said that it did not involve any players with the Blackhawks.
Davidson told media that the team had learned about the allegations on Wednesday while they were in Columbus and preparing to take on the Blue Jackets. The team pulled Perry from the lineup that evening, and he missed three games while the investigation was underway.
Davidson believed the team “went through the process as quickly as we could in order to run a responsible investigation,” which is why they didn’t disclose anything sooner.
“To be honest, I think over the last 24 hours, what’s gone on has been very disturbing and I feel like I’m wearing it. I’m carrying that,” Davidson said before his voice trailed off. “It’s just tough to see. Yeah, it’s tough to see”.
When asked whether the Perry situation will lead to more internal changes, Davidson responded: “It’s so fresh that we’ll get through today and I’m sure we’ll continue to always evaluate.”
“The one thing, it goes without saying whether it’s after something comes up or not, you’re always trying to be better, you’re always trying to improve. I don’t see why that wouldn’t be the case moving forward. We’re always looking to be better than we were the day before.”
Players were not given exact details of the nature of the allegations but
were told prior to Tuesday’s announcement that the team had decided to terminate Perry’s contract.
Foligno expressed his pride in how the Blackhawks team handled the news about Perry and didn’t let it get in the way of defeating the Kraken at home.
“You can’t control some things, right? That’s what we had to understand,” Foligno said. “A lot of that’s out of our control and we really don’t even know what’s going on. We don’t have the details. But we came here to work and get a job done. It shows growth, it shows maturity. Now we need to build off of that. It’s a great step in the right direction on a day that was really difficult for everyone.”
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