Former Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters is the “leading candidate” for a head coaching vacancy with the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
However, team president Murray Toews said Friday no final decisions have been made.
“He hasn’t been selected yet. The process of hiring the next head coach of the Grande Prairie Storm, we hope to have in place by the end of next week because our spring camp opens up (Friday),” Toews told Global News.
Peters resigned as coach of the Calgary Flames in 2019 following allegations he previously used racial slurs and struck players.
Akim Aliu, who is Black, played for Peters when both were with the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs more than a decade ago. He accused his former coach in November 2019 of using racial profanities.
Michal Jordan, who played for Peters with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, also alleged Peters kicked him and punched another unnamed player during a game.
Both the NHL and Flames launched investigations into the allegations.
In April 2020, Peters took a job coaching the Russian hockey club Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
“I think as time goes on we all grow and improve and become better versions of ourselves, and I’m no different than that. You learn from all the experiences that you’re in, and you become better,” Peters said during a video conference call with Russian media at the time.
“It’s no different right now, going through a very trying time right now in the world with the global pandemic, and I believe we’re going to come out of this, and when we come out of this people are going to be better people for it and more passionate and compassionate towards each other and more patient.”
The Grande Prairie Storm recently split up leadership duties and will be relying on General Manager Mark Bomersback and a hiring committee — which Toews said he is not part of — to make the head coach decision.
Global News asked Toews how Peters’ history was addressed in the interview process.
“The hiring committee has a very diligent process this year,” Toews told Global News on Friday. “They’ve gone through close to 10 different candidates. The questions they asked Bill I’m not privy to but it’ll be part of my agenda next week.
“The hiring committee is obviously going to be doing all the due diligence on that, or they’ve already done it,” he said.
“If Bill is the selected guy, if we end up hiring Bill Peters to coach the Grande Prairie Storm, we’ll have to obviously deal with that.”
Commenting on his past is something for Peters to do himself, Toews said.
“I know what kind of person Bill Peters is,” he added.
“It’s a thing for Bill to answer… if he becomes the next head coach of the Grande Prairie Storm.”
Personally, Toews said he believes in second chances and that people can change.
“I believe in change and there had better be change.
“In the sports I’ve played and the things I’ve been involved in, if you’re part of the problem, you want to be part of the solution.
“If it ends up being Bill, I hope he’s part of the solution.”
Former Edmonton Oiler Georges Laraque said the biggest factor in this potential hiring should be what kind of work Peters had done on himself since he resigned.
“How is he feeling about it? Did he get any therapy? Did he meet with anyone? Talk to some groups?”
Laraque is part of the NHL’s Player Inclusion Committee that offers a four-hour training program and then provides recommendations about the participants to hockey leagues. Players Jacob Panetta and Krystof Hrabik took the inclusion training.
“I don’t know what Bill Peters has done, but I don’t think he’s been through our process, a process of training. Because I do think that when an incident like this happens, people — to be reinstated — need to go through an education program to make sure it doesn’t happen again and to understand the harms his actions have done.”
Laraque said if Peters hasn’t completed some sort of training or education program, he’s against him being hired on as a coach again.
“If you make a mistake like this — a big mistake like this — hiding away for a while is not the way to do it. If you feel remorse, you have to show everyone by taking steps that now you want to be an ally. You want to show everyone that you understand the mistake you made and you don’t want that to happen anymore, but at the same time, you want to learn.”
The team also has a responsibility, Laraque said, and how it handles this hire is important.
“You know it’s a sensitive situation. You know that as a team, you’re going to have some explaining to do because it’s not something that’s going to be popular to do.”
Just saying due diligence was done isn’t enough, Laraque stressed.
“People want more. They’re fighting for inclusion… You have a responsibility to fans.
“When you present him, you talk about the different programs he’s done and he’s followed to show everyone that he’s remorseful and he’s a better man.
“Sports unite people, unite kids. You don’t want to make decisions that are going to divide, that are right away going to create a debate,” Laraque said.
“If he does get hired, I can’t wait to see the message that the team is going to do because that’s going to set the tone.”