Under normal circumstances, the voluntary departure of an NHL team’s Chief Operating Officer wouldn’t exactly be news worthy.
But as we’ve seen over the last 24 months, the words normal circumstances really don’t apply to the Ottawa Senators.
Also, it’s early May so what the hell else are we going to talk about?
As first reported in a series of cryptic references in the comment section by yours truly and later verified by reputable news sources, Nic Ruszkowski is no longer with the organization.
And while it’s pretty easy to lump this in with the other high-profile departures from the Front Office over the last two years and instinctively point the finger at Eugene Melnyk (it starts at the top, you know), this one is a little bit different.
While Melnyk will and should wear the blame for hiring Ruszkowski in the first place, it just wasn’t working out. Labelled as a communications expert of sorts, it just seemed like Ruszkowski constantly struck the wrong notes during his time in Ottawa.
In fact, I’m still not entirely sure what a COO does.
His spin everything into a positive approach was the exact wrong tone for the franchise and frankly, it’s hard not to view his departure as an opportunity for the team in the context of the rebuild.
Onward and upward, I say.
Ruszkowski’s decision to leave the team (mhmm) was announced to employees yesterday in an email sent directly by Eugene himself.
In that same email, he also announced that Brian Crombie would be moving into the Chief Financial Officer role on a full-time basis and Mark Bonneau, who has been with the team for years, would be moving into the role of Chief Revenue Officer.
His primary responsibility will be locating the revenue.
Melynk also announced that Rob Mullowney (COO in Belleville) is moving to Ottawa to take on a role as Senior Director of Corporate Sales. and Carrie Croft (Canada Soccer) is the new Senior Director of Communications.
Mullowney has done a hell of a job with the team in Belleville and Croft comes with a pretty impressive resume.
Ruszkowski’s departure, after a year in the role, is what will grab the headlines but it has apparently been coming for some time now. He and Melnyk were not exactly seeing eye to eye and from a fan’s perspective, it just seemed like Ruszkowski was a bad fit.
Okay, with those big ol’ moves out of the way, how about a President of Hockey Operations and a Head Coach?
-The “Brad Shaw for Head Coach” is in full swing. This morning, the Blue Jackets Assistant was on TSN 1200 and in no uncertain terms, made it clear he is very interested in the job in Ottawa. Not exactly a ground breaking development but you have to admire Shaw’s hustle, getting his name out there on local radio a couple days after his team is eliminated from the post-season. In his latest, Bruce Garrioch mentioned that Pierre Dorion is currently on personal leave and will continue the search for a Head Coach when he returns. An interview with Shaw is a no-brainer at this point.
