CALGARY -- In his first public comments since the Bill Peters incident erupted Nov. 25, NHL president Gary Bettman praised the Flames and general manager Brad Trevling for their handling of the situation.
"Calgary's response, initially, to Akim Aliu's allegations and the Carolina (Hurricanes) issue was timely, professional and appropriate," Bettman said in a Monday press conference.
"While none of Bill Peters's inappropriate conduct occurred on the Flames' watch, they undertook the important effort to try to understand what happened ten years ago, and thereafter.
"Once Calgary could satisfy itself as to what transpired, they achieved an appropriate result," he said.
Bettman announced a number of measures the league plans to install to prevent future incidents such as those experienced by Aliu, when Peters directed racial slurs at the music he was listening to when the two were in the minor leagues over a decade ago.
Those measures include a system allowing any individual in a hockey organization to anonymously report inappropriate behaviour, to lessen the fear of reprisal from management.
All coaches, minor league coaches, assistant coaches, assistant general managers and general managers will also be required to take a program Bettman said will "focus on training and other exercises, initiatives to ensure respectful locker rooms, training facilities, games and all other hockey-related activities."
The Flames defeated the Avalanche Monday, 5-4 in overtime, their fifth win in a row since Jeff Ward took over as head coach.
Aliu, who met with Bettman and the NHL to talk about how to improve inclusivity in the league, tweeted his approval of the NHL's handling of the situation.
