Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters out for Buffalo Sabres matchup

The Calgary Flames have announced that head coach Bill Peters will not coach tonight against the Buffalo Sabres due to being under investigation for various allegations of abuse and racism.

Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters will not be joining the team tonight for their game against the Buffalo Sabres. The team confirmed associate Coach Geoff Ward will be taking his place as the league continues the investigation.

Peters is under investigation following racist allegations that were shared on Twitter on the evening of November 25th. Since news broke of the harsh treatment of Mitch Marner under Mike Babcock, players have taken to social media to share their concerns with other coaches in the league.

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Akim Aliu shared a string of tweets in response to Marner’s story. These tweets were sent out just a few minutes before the Flames began their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and went viral through the course of the night.

After falling by a score of 3-2 on Monday night, General Manager Brad Treliving was questioned about the allegations in a post-game interview. He did not comment much on the situation as he was not given the chance to look into it.

Pat Steinburg of the Sportsnet radio station based out of Calgary shared quotes from Wednesday’s meeting with the press at a morning skate in Buffalo. Peters was not in attendance.

“We have not completed (our investigation). Bill has not been relieved of his duties. We are continuing this ongoing investigation right now. We hope to have this completed quickly, but it’s got to be thorough. This is subject matter that has no place in our organization. The seriousness of which we take this allegation is very high. Until such time I can talk to all the parties involved we’re not going to comment.”

Aliu is referring to his 2009-10 season under Peters where he played for the AHL Rockford Ice Hogs where he was criticized for his choice in music. Another former player, Sean McMorrow, tweeted out some discontent for Peters as well after hearing about the story.

Since this story has developed, other players have spoken up about their mistreatment from Peters. Defenseman Michal Jordan spoke of instances on the bench in Carolina where Peters was physically abusive. Current Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour spoke to the media on Wednesday and confirmed Jordán’s allegations against Peters to be true.

The trend through social media in the last 48 hours has prompted current and former professional hockey players to speak up about any instances that may be concerning in comparison. Many decline to comment at this time and appreciate the privacy in their stories. While current Flames such as Oliver Kylington, Mark Giordano, and Derek Ryan were asked about this matter, none of them spoke about anything like this happening in their time playing for Peters.

While there are a lot of rumors swirling at the moment, the team has confirmed that no official terminations have been dealt and they will take the investigation very seriously before coming to a decision. There is no current timeline to place expectations on if and when Bill Peters will return to the Flames bench.