This one feels different.
Of course, in some ways, it feels all too familiar. The last few years have been littered with sudden and unexpected departures. They don’t all fit into the same category obviously but the thing they all seem to have in common is the end result.
Somebody leaves the Ottawa Senators organization with a bad taste in their mouth.
And while Chris Phillips’ decision to leave his role with the Foundation after just over a year certainly seems to fit that description, this departure may be the most concerning of them all.
First of all, Chris Phillips is the definition of a lifer.
He has spent his entire career in the organization and even when his playing career ended, he decided to stick around. Phillips has seen it all during his 20+ years in the city and with the Senators. He knew the risks and challenges that came with working with this particular Owner and still jumped at the opportunity to take on this role with the Foundation.
When he made his appearance on The SensChirp Podcast a few months back, it was clear that Chris and Erin were thrilled to have this opportunity. It was the perfect fit.
That things got to the point that he still decided to step away from the only organization he has ever known is obviously a huge red flag.
And while he may not be as well known as Phillips, letting Brad Weir go is an equally stunning move. He’s another guy who has been with the team for well over a decade and he was always one of the first names that came to mind when you thought about the truly good people working with the Senators and with the Foundation. When the team made the surprising decision to break-up with their long-standing charitable arm, it felt like they might be okay because at least Brad was still involved.
Letting him go right now just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
From sources in the charity world, they find it maddening that the Sens would plead with Brad Weir to leave the newly formed Ottawa Gatineau Youth Foundation to run the Sens Community Foundation just last summer. Now this. Who could blame Chris Phillips for following Weir.
— Wayne Scanlan (@HockeyScanner) June 24, 2021
What’s most concerning about all this though is the timing.
If the rumours about the organization deciding to put a “pause” on the Foundation are true, it paints a pretty grim picture of the team’s current financial state.
In all the recent comments from the Owner and Anthony Leblanc, they seemed keenly aware of the importance of rebuilding the relationship between the team and the city. They correctly identified previous missteps and there appeared to be a conscious effort underway to start rebuilding that crucial link between the business side of the operation and the community.
I just can’t imagine how tight things would have to be that it would seem like a good/necessary move to put a pause on the brand new Foundation and lose two good people in the process.
There are some details of how a Foundation operates, and the arms-length relationship they have from the hockey team that I don’t entirely understand but even with that, you would think the team would prioritize keeping these guys around and supporting the Foundation during this crucial period. It’s worth pointing out that we really don’t know anything about why Brad was let go, what role Phillips was offered within the organization and really any of the specifics about how this all played out.
We’ll see if additional details emerge in the coming days and where the story (and the Foundation) goes from here but on the surface, this is just a bad look for the organization.
As much as I wanted to avoid this topic entirely, I need something to take my mind off the Montreal Canadiens making the Stanley Cup Finals.
Unless…
