Flames’ coach Bill Peters accused of making racist remarks at former player

In case you missed it late last night, Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters has been accused of making racist remarks at former player Akim Aliu during the 2009-10 season with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.

Check out these tweets from Aliu himself describing the situation:

Flames GM Brad Treliving informed the media that the team was aware of Aliu's allegations, but would meet with Peters before making any public announcement on the matter.

"During tonight's game I was made aware of a tweet from former player  and obviously we were playing so I haven't had a chance to sit down with Bill or our people internally, to talk about this and get to the bottom of it," Treliving told reporters Monday. "I would say we take these matters very, very seriously. Until such time as we have a chance to speak about it internally, we obviously want to address you people - we're aware of it, made aware of it during the game here this evening. And like I said, I haven't had a chance to talk to Bill. I will be doing that and until such time we won't have any further comment about it but we will address it and get back to you people once we have a chance to address it internally."

Presumably that conversation has taken place already, but the team has still not issued an update on the situation. Sit tight.

In the meantime, NHL insider Darren Dreger reports that the NHL has intervened in the situation to help get to the bottom of things.

Check it out:

Not going to lie... this seems like a PR stunt by the league. What can they offer up in this situation other than to appear sanctimonious if indeed Peters is outed as a racist. Surely they'll earn brownie points by getting involved in the process from the start.

In any case, it's fair to say that there's still a lot more to come in this story. Stay tuned.

In other Flames news, Sportsnet reporter Elliotte Friedman’s reported recently that the team COULD be taking trade calls on superstar Johnny Gaudreau.

The Flames are gonna trade Johnny Hockey!? WHAT!?

Check out this little tidbit from Friedman's most recent 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet:

I’d be astonished if Calgary traded Johnny Gaudreau at this time. For one thing, the Flames are aware that this historically 12.5 per cent shooter is at 7.8 in 2019–20. There is concern about how he’s playing, as Gaudreau’s confidence and puck wizardry in the offensive zone are missing. A huge part of their offence was Gaudreau getting in close, where Sean Monahan could bury it. That’s missing. But there’s no desire to make a rash move.

Okay… so Johnny’s not going anywhere, right? No need to make a rash move, as Friedge says. We can all forget this, right?

Well… think again. Because the media in Philly is taking this rumour and running with it. 

In his most recent column for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Flyers reporter Sam Carchidi proposes a deal between the Flames and Flyers centered around a Gaudreau and Jakub Voracek swap.

Check it out:

Check it out:

The rumor mill says the slow-starting Calgary Flames could soon put left winger Johnny Gaudreau on the trade block.

If so, the Flyers should be first in line.

Gaudreau, 26, whose Flames will play at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, has deep roots in South Jersey and has said he would like to play for the Flyers some day. He would be a perfect fit for the Flyers, whose core has grown stale and needs a change, needs to be reenergized.

The Flyers also would have to deal salary to make Gaudreau fit in their cap, and maybe sending Jake Voracek ($8.25 million salary cap until the end of 2023-24) to Calgary would help everyone.

Acquiring Gaudreau would be bold, but would not be easy — hey, this a salary-cap world, not your friendly fantasy hockey league — and the Flyers might have to deal a couple of high draft picks and the talented but erratic Voracek or van Riemsdyk. If it was Voracek, they might also have to take on an additional player who earns around $1.5 million to make the salaries compatible because both teams are close to the cap.

That's some serious fantasy GM'ing. I'm not saying that Gaudreau is a complete untouchable, but... let's get real... the Flyers aren't going to get him for an underachieving veteran and some draft picks. Now, if the Flyers were to add rookie goalie Carter Hart in the mix, well then things could get interesting.