Ron Francis, in Seattle Times interview, defends handling of ex-Canes coach Bill Peters
Former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis won’t say what disciplinary action he took against former Canes coach Bill Peters when accusations of physical abuse were made against Peters by two Canes players.
In an interview Wednesday with the Seattle Times, Francis said he believes he handled the Peters situation correctly once it was brought to his attention, without giving specifics on the steps taken. Francis, the newly hired general manager of the Seattle NHL expansion franchise, also defended his decision to give Peters a contract extension with the Canes after the 2015-16 season, after the allegations were made and the situation addressed.
Peters, who coached the Canes from 2014 to 2018, was accused of kicking former defenseman Michal Jordan in the back and also punching another unidentified player in the head during a game. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, a former assistant coach on the Peters staff, has confirmed the incidents occurred and has said he believed they were handled properly once management was informed by a group of players and hockey staff members.
Jordan first made the incidents public Nov. 26 on Twitter after Peters, then head coach of Calgary Flames, was accused of using a racial slur a decade ago in addressing defenseman Akim Aliu when Peters was coaching the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League and Aliu playing on the minor-league team.
Peters, who left the Hurricanes in 2018 to take the Flames job, resigned as Calgary coach on Nov. 29.
Jordan, now in the KHL, last played for the Canes in the 2015-16 season. Despite the kicking and punching incidents, Francis gave Peters an extension after that season, after the Canes finished 35-31-16 and missed the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In his interview with the Times, Francis noted the Canes improved from 71 points in 2014-15, Peters’ first season, to 86 points in 2015-16. He said he believed the Canes were “moving in the right direction” and that the physical abuse incidents had been properly addressed and discussed within the team and the issue resolved.
Francis told the Times: “I think you deal with it the best you can with the situation you have at the time.”
Neither Francis nor Peters has responded to interview requests from the News & Observer. Francis issued a statement Nov. 30 through the NHL, saying he took “immediate action” after being told of the Peters incidents with the Canes and that he “briefed ownership” on the situation.
Former Canes majority owner Peter Karmanos had told the Seattle Times that he was not informed of the Peters accusations and that he would have immediately fired Peters had he known. Tom Dundon became Carolina’s majority owner in January 2018 and Karmanos remains a minority investor in the franchise.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, in a press conference Monday at the NHL board of governors meeting, said the league would have “zero tolerance” for teams that did not immediately notify the league of such physical abuse incidents and that those teams would face severe penalties. Bettman said the Peters incidents came as a surprise.
Bettman said he did not have an answer for the contradiction in the comments made by Karmanos and Francis, saying the league still needed time to “sort it out.” Francis, in his interview Wednesday with the Times, said he would stand by his previous statement about briefing ownership at the time.
Francis, in the interview, said the Canes did thorough due diligence in vetting Peters’ background before hiring him in 2014. Aliu, born in Nigeria, said the racial slurs were made by Peters in a locker-room incident during the 2009-10 AHL season.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 9:00 AM.
