Bruins Reverse Course on Signing Player Who Racially Abused Classmate
The Bruins are getting their first taste of the NHL’s current social-justice controversy as they head to New York in search of the Stanley Cup.
The Bruins have made a number of changes in their locker room this season, many aimed at creating a more social-justice-friendly climate in the dressing room.
For the first time since 2000, the Bruins also announced that they will not sign or interview a player who has been convicted of a crime.
In an interview with ESPNBoston.com on Tuesday, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli revealed some details of his thinking when it came to player signings.
ESPN Boston.com: So you said that a number of your decisions have been made with the idea of creating a different type of atmosphere in the locker room. Can you give us some specifics from the conversations you’ve had with coach Claude Julien about what you’ve tried to do?
Peter Chiarelli: Yeah. I mean, all of the decisions that are currently in place are very much part of a long-term vision. But the reason that I say that is, you take a look at our roster. Our roster, we have 38. I’ll tell you what: That’s 38, you know? And that’s, one, too many on the left; two, too many on the right, and three, too many still on the bench.
I mean, we’ve had a number of decisions that have been made that we’ve had to make because there’s not enough good enough on the roster. We’ve taken a look at certain players, certain players that are on the roster. We’ve looked at what players need to be added to the roster. I have a lot of experience in the league, and I have a lot of opinions on this.
If somebody had to sit down and be a general manager, and someone had to make a decision as part of their job, they wouldn’t just base those decisions on whether somebody was black on the left or a white on the right. They would, you know, make those decisions based on the specific needs of the team.
Now,