BUFFALO, N.Y. — Calgary Flames Coach Bill Peters acknowledges using offensive language in dealing with a Nigerian-born player 10 years ago in the minors in writing a letter of apology addressed to General Manager Brad Treliving, and obtained by TSN, a Canadian sports cable network.
Without specifically referencing the words he used, Peters writes his comments to Akim Aliu were the source of both anger and disappointment in the letter posted Twitter. He adds the incident was made in a “moment of frustration and does not reflect my personal values.”
Peters says he regretted the incident and apologizes to anyone negatively affected by it.
The letter was released while Peters is away from the team while the Flames and the NHL conduct an investigation into allegations he used racial slurs in a confrontation with Aliu.
In another development Wednesday, Peters was accused of punching and kicking players while he was in Carolina.
Hurricanes Coach Rod Brind’Amour said “for sure that happened” in backing a former player’s complaints of Peters physically going after his own players behind the bench during his four seasons in Carolina.
Brind’Amour’s comments increase the scrutiny on Peters, whose future in Calgary remains in question.
Before issuing the letter, Peters had not commented or been with his team over the past two days while the NHL and the team investigate allegations made by Aliu, who said Peters “dropped the N bomb several times” because he didn’t like the player’s choice of music. The alleged confrontation happened during the 2009-10 season while the two were with the Chicago Blackhawks minor league affiliate in Rockford, Illinois.
Peters traveled with the team to Buffalo on Tuesday, a day after Aliu posted his allegations on Twitter. But Peters’ whereabouts were unknown with the Flames only saying he won’t be behind the bench for Calgary’s game at Buffalo on Wednesday night. Associate coach Geoff Ward served as coach.
Brind’Amour, who was an assistant on Peters’ staff, said he was proud of the way players and support staff handled what happened by immediately bringing their concerns to team officials.
“Management handled it directly and never heard of it again and never saw anything else after that,” said Brind’Amour, who spoke to reporters in New York before the Hurricanes game against the Rangers. “So it was definitely dealt with, in my opinion, correctly. … We’ve definitely moved past that.”
Brind’Amour took over as coach after Peters opted out of his contract following the 2017-18 season. Peters was then immediately hired by the Flames, where he led the team to a 50-win season and a Pacific Division title in his first year.
Flames GM Treliving is overseeing the investigation into Peters, and on Tuesday said he’s spoken to the coach and Aliu plus many others. Treliving was not made available for comment Wednesday.
SABRES: Buffalo’s list of injuries continues to grow, with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin out indefinitely with a concussion.
The play-making defenseman was hurt when he was elbowed in the face by Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak in Buffalo’s 5-2 loss on Monday. Cernak wasn’t penalized for the hit but has since been issued a two-game suspension by the NHL.
With Dahlin’s addition, the Sabres have five regulars on the injured list.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
CAPITALS 4, PANTHERS 3: Lars Eller broke a third-period tie and host Washington snapped a two-game skid despite posting a season-low 20 shots.
Braden Holtby made 37 saves for Washington, including one while he played without a stick just moments before Eller gave the Capitals the lead on the other end.
Alex Ovechkin added his team-leading 16th goal in the first period for the Atlantic Division leaders, who have yet to lose three straight this season.
Richard Panik also scored and Brendan Leipsic added an insurance goal in the third period that proved the winner.
Brett Connolly scored his team-leading 12th goal for Florida in his return against his former team, as the Panthers sank to a third consecutive loss.
FLAMES 3, SABRES 2: Elias Lindholm scored on a wraparound 1:17 into overtime to lead visiting Calgary over Buffalo.
BLUES 4, LIGHTNING 3: Oskar Sundqvist had two goals before leaving with an injury, and visiting St. Louis beat Tampa Bay.
Zach Sanford and Brayden Schenn scored in the third period and Jordan Binnington stopped 32 shots for the Blues. Ivan Barbashev had three assists after going six games without a point.
Sundqvist left in the second with a lower-body injury.
FLYERS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2: Claude Giroux scored on the Philadelphia’s fifth power play in winning at Columbus, Ohio.
Scott Laughton had his first goal after a 13-game absence due to a broken finger, and Tyler Pitlick also scored to help Philadelphia win its second straight and beat Columbus on the road for just the second time in 15 visits.
MAPLE LEAFS 6, RED WINGS 0: Andreas Johnsson had two goals and an assist, and visiting Toronto routed Detroit for its third straight win under new coach Sheldon Keefe.
Frederik Andersen made 25 saves for his 17th career shutout.
Detroit has lost seven straight (0-5-2) and was shut out for the second consecutive game. The Red Wings have not scored in 156:28 and have allowed 13 straight goals since Taro Hirose scored 3:32 into the second period Saturday in a 5-1 loss to New Jersey.
RANGERS 3, HURRICANES 2: Adam Fox had a goal and an assist, Henrik Lundqvist stopped 41 shots, and New York held on to win at home.
Mika Zibanejad scored in his return after missing 13 games with an upper body injury, Brendan Smith also had a goal and Artemi Panarin added two assists to help the Rangers improve to 9-4-1 in their last 14 games.
Ryan Dzingel and Warren Foegele scored for the Hurricanes, who had won two straight. Petr Mrazek finished with 22 saves.
PENGUINS 8, FLAMES 6: Kris Letang capped a wild comeback, scoring the deciding goal with 3:06 to play, and Pittsburgh rallied with six goals in the third period to beat visiting Vancouver.
Letang’s slap shot from the right circle beat Thatcher Demko to the glove side, completing Pittsburgh’s comeback from a 6-3 deficit.
Evgeni Malkin scored twice and had three assists, and Jake Guentzel had two goals and two assists. Guentzel, on a three-game scoring streak, has 14 goals this season and six goals and 12 points on a six-game point streak.
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