Former Hurricanes coach Bill Peters tests positive for the coronavirus

Former Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters, now coaching a KHL team in Russia, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The news was announced Wednesday by the team, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, and reported by the TASS news agency in Russia. It was reported that Peters, 54, was asymptomatic for COVID-19.

Peters left his position as head coach of the Calgary Flames in November after accusations by a former player, Akim Aliu, that he had used racial slurs while coaching the defenseman with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in the 2009-10 season.

After Aliu’s accusations, former Canes defenseman Michal Jordan said he was once kicked by Peters, and Peters was alleged to have punched another unnamed Canes player while Carolina’s coach from 2014-18.

Rod Brind’Amour, a former assistant coach under Peters and now the Canes head coach, later confirmed the incidents occurred. Peters was said to have apologized to the team but was not fired by Ron Francis, then Carolina’s general manager.

Peters agreed to a two-year contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in April. The KHL season is scheduled to begin Sept. 2.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

919-829-8945

In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.