Emotional Davidson explains why Hawks placed Perry on waivers

After nearly a week of speculation and wild rumors surrounding Corey Perry, a choked-up Kyle Davidson came to a podium inside the United Center on Tuesday afternoon to explain why the team placed the former MVP forward on unconditional waivers.

Davidson, the team's general manager, said management was notified "about possible misconduct" by Perry while the Hawks were preparing to play at Columbus last Wednesday. Perry was deemed a healthy scratch and an internal investigation began.

Over the next six days, the evidence of misconduct grew, and the Hawks decided to release Perry because he was "in violation of both the terms of his Standard Player's Contract and the Blackhawks' internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments."

If Perry clears waivers, the Hawks intend to terminate his contract.

Davidson would not confirm or deny if the complaint was filed by a Hawks employee. He did say, however, rumors that Perry's misconduct involved a player or a player's family are "wildly inaccurate."

"And frankly, it's disgusting," Davidson said.

Davidson emphasized that this is a "workplace matter" and that authorities are not involved. Whatever the investigation turned up, however, it was serious enough that Davidson was on the verge of tears several times during his nine-minute presser.

"To be honest," Davidson said, "I think over the last 24 hours what's gone on has been very disturbing. And I feel like I'm wearing it. I'm carrying that."

Perry, who won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2006, was acquired from Tampa Bay during the off-season for a seventh-round pick and signed to a one-year, $4 million contract. He has six 30-goal seasons during an 18-year career, including a career-high 50 in 2010-11 when he was named MVP.

Here's what else we learned:

• Davidson met with the team after Tuesday's morning skate to inform them Perry was being released.

• Asked if this showed a side of Perry's character he wasn't expecting to see, Davidson said: "It certainly didn't mesh with the background we received."

• While Davidson spoke with Perry, he would not "get into the details of our conversation."

• Davidson remains "very confident in the locker room and their resilience. Obviously it's a tough day. But we'll continue to communicate with our players and we'll go forward."

• The Hawks have worked so hard to create a new culture in the wake of the Kyle Beach sexual assault scandal. So does an incident like this make things tougher? Davidson: "More than anything it reinforces the resolve we have to change the culture and nature (to make sure) we're doing the right things and upholding our values and making sure we continue to build a culture of accountability."