Article: Wilderness Walk: Wild, Assistant GM Chris O'Hearn 'Mutually Agree To Part Ways'

[Thomas Williams]

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[M_Nels]

Very shocking and way out of the blue to happen at this point of the season. Anything is speculation at this point but my spidey senses are thinking it’s an off-ice issue. 
 

Have seen a lot of people saying it might be “bad contracts” related. I just don’t see a shit can happening at this stage of the season for that. Also thought it may be that Billy is letting him go pursue an opportunity elsewhere. Who knows, hopefully we get some insight in the coming days. 

Edited December 14, 2023 by M_Nels

[M_Nels]

Oooooh the plot thickens. Athletic article from this morning said there have been 2 investigations into the Wild front office by an outside firm commissioned by the organization.

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, M_Nels said:

Oooooh the plot thickens. Athletic article from this morning said there have been 2 investigations into the Wild front office by an outside firm commissioned by the organization.

I'm hearing Bedard's mom may have been involved.  

[mnfaninnc]

20 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I'm hearing Bedard's mom may have been involved.  

Keep it up Pewter, we need some real good conspiracy stories on this!

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, M_Nels said:

Oooooh the plot thickens. Athletic article from this morning said there have been 2 investigations into the Wild front office by an outside firm commissioned by the organization.

Don't just tease us! Deliver the highlights for those of us not willing to pay for the site. 

[Pewterschmidt]

4 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Don't just tease us! Deliver the highlights for those of us not willing to pay for the site. 

My sources are stating that the dismissal relates to o’hearns extended periods in the Wild org. bathroom stall (diarrhea?) as well as him prairie dogging over cube wall of the marketing intern dime pieces.  Bro apparently was not reading the room

Edited December 14, 2023 by Pewterschmidt

[MrCheatachu]

Quote

You can poach somebody from the league, however, and one person who may make sense is vice president of player safety Patrick Burke, the son of Brian Burke, who has worked for the NHL front offices before, is an attorney and knows the cap and CBA.

Russo/Smith dropping tidbits of info about Billy hiring somebody affiliated with the Pittsburgh operation?! SHOCKING!!!  Somebody grab the smelling salts, I'm about to faint in disbelief.

[M_Nels]

24 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Don't just tease us! Deliver the highlights for those of us not willing to pay for the site. 

That's basically it. No further information just that his departure was pretty much right after the investigations concluded. Tight lipped all around but no indication it was coming since he was on the last road trip.

[mnfaninnc]

Capologists must be very valuable and rare. Where do you go to find these guys? I wonder if thinking outside of the box on this would be worthwhile, like, say, someone high up at Capfriendly? 

With Patrick Burke, I wonder just how much expertise he has in these matters, but, having him in the organization would probably be helpful from his connections in NY. You'd think his influence could have gotten some justice on say Brodin's hit in Edmonton. 

I also wonder if you need to stay within the hockey boundaries, or if another league might have a capologist that could fill the role, or, perhaps even an agent? 

I did get to read the Athletic article as it wasn't blocked, and they said that even before this parting of ways, the front office was very specialized but also quite undermanned. Perhaps the real answer to this is not just 1 person, but Shooter's got to find some more help? Of course, what I do like about Guerin is that he doesn't just hire people to hire people. He tries to hire the right guy and waits until he finds him. 

Maybe in his search, he finds a couple of more "right" guys to come on board the front office? 

[Willy the poor boy]

28 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

what I do like about Guerin is that he doesn't just hire people to hire people. 

Lol, good one

[mnfaninnc]

Just now, Willy the poor boy said:

Lol, good one

I sense sarcasm. Hiring FO personnel, I would say, is different than resigning players. What would be examples of him hiring people to hire people? 

[Willy the poor boy]

2 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I sense sarcasm. Hiring FO personnel, I would say, is different than resigning players. What would be examples of him hiring people to hire people? 

Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

Hynes.

 

[MrCheatachu]

6 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Capologists must be very valuable and rare. Where do you go to find these guys? I wonder if thinking outside of the box on this would be worthwhile, like, say, someone high up at Capfriendly? 

Nepotism.  Billy needs to see who's worked with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the past and hire them.

[mnfaninnc]

1 minute ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Hynes.

Why would you think that Hynes is hiring someone to hire someone? Apparently, he was on Guerin's short list as he tipped him off a couple of weeks prior to firing Evason. I would argue that due to the relationship Shooter had with Hynes in Pittsburgh, that was his choice. 

You could argue that Gallant was available, but maybe Guerin didn't want Gallant, or maybe Gallant didn't want the Wild? When you go outside the organization you often don't have a huge pool to choose from. But, being that Guerin and Hynes knew each other from before, the fit seems very logical. 

Perhaps that seems like it's a hire because you have to replace someone, but due to the timing, I'd say it was strategic. Evason wasn't going to get fired before Sweden, and Hynes was already on alert to pack his bags and a hiring could be imminent. 

[mnfaninnc]

5 minutes ago, MrCheatachu said:

Nepotism.  Billy needs to see who's worked with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the past and hire them.

I would argue against choosing anyone Rutherford has had influence with. Rutherford was well known for signing bad contracts.

[Willy the poor boy]

7 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Why would you think that Hynes is hiring someone to hire someone? Apparently, he was on Guerin's short list as he tipped him off a couple of weeks prior to firing Evason. I would argue that due to the relationship Shooter had with Hynes in Pittsburgh, that was his choice. 

You could argue that Gallant was available, but maybe Guerin didn't want Gallant, or maybe Gallant didn't want the Wild? When you go outside the organization you often don't have a huge pool to choose from. But, being that Guerin and Hynes knew each other from before, the fit seems very logical. 

Perhaps that seems like it's a hire because you have to replace someone, but due to the timing, I'd say it was strategic. Evason wasn't going to get fired before Sweden, and Hynes was already on alert to pack his bags and a hiring could be imminent. 

How many times have you said BG was going to hire someone with SCC pedigree? He didn't have to fire the better coach in Deano and hire  Hynes who has a proven track record of doing worse than Deano.

He could've hired Woodcroft. There had to be numerous better choices than Hynes. This won't end well for BG or Wild fans for that matter and that's a pretty easy conclusion IMO. If Deano was such a bad coach surely Hynes is.

[Up North Guy]

1 hour ago, MrCheatachu said:

Russo/Smith dropping tidbits of info about Billy hiring somebody affiliated with the Pittsburgh operation?! SHOCKING!!!  Somebody grab the smelling salts, I'm about to faint in disbelief.

I think this has more to do with the lack of qualified folks to fill the position than whether it is a "Pittsburgh" guy.

[MrCheatachu]

28 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

I think this has more to do with the lack of qualified folks to fill the position than whether it is a "Pittsburgh" guy.

I don't think Russo/Smith pulled that name out of thin air...I'm guessing that name was floated by someone internal to the Wild org.

The CBA is 540 pages long, the MOA is 71.  There should be plenty of lawyers (and internal resources) that should be very well versed into that agreement.  'Capologist' makes it seem like figuring out how to add numbers up and keep it below $82M is something you need an advanced degree to do, and that an excel sheet can't accomplish.

It seems like this AGM role mainly exists to negotiate contracts, rather than figure out how to add to $82M.

But yeah, I'm sure the only qualified candidate is your buddy's kid...🙄

Edited December 14, 2023 by MrCheatachu

[Dean]

Yesterday when Hearns was out and no info about it other than he was a cap guy. It seemed he probably took hit for extensions. However reading about these outside investigations over a trip to Nashville, it’s definitely about something different.  
    Billy at the Nashville draft took time to thank the local bar for keeping  his staff nice and hydrated. Players always talk about how much they like playing in Nashville for the night life.  So my guess is this is alcohol with some sexual misconduct. It has to be something serious for 2 outside investigations. It may or may not be alcohol but if it isn’t than it’s definitely something worse. Ottawa lost a first round pick  I believe  for screwing up a no move clause.  Hopefully shooters guys didn’t do something stupid to lose a pick.  I guess this is winning culture.  

[Dean]

After reading the athletic article. Billy should get gm of the year.! Not even Fletcher or Fenton had 2 external investigations. Billy has a playoff team at the bottom standings. Just so much winning with bill ! 

[Pewterschmidt]

Developing story: New details are coming to light.  Witness observed o’hearn and Nordie canoodling in a popular Nashville hockey tonk.  The two retired to a local travel lodge where o’hearns unwanted advances led to a 911 call (k9 unit), which led to another call to dog pound (embarrassing for Nordie as it was the victim.).  Nordie is spending time with family to recover while o’hearn attempts to sell his elicit pics on internet to raise funds for legal fees.  Stay tuned.  

[mnfaninnc]

23 hours ago, Willy the poor boy said:

How many times have you said BG was going to hire someone with SCC pedigree? He didn't have to fire the better coach in Deano and hire  Hynes who has a proven track record of doing worse than Deano.

He could've hired Woodcroft. There had to be numerous better choices than Hynes. This won't end well for BG or Wild fans for that matter and that's a pretty easy conclusion IMO. If Deano was such a bad coach surely Hynes is.

I think you may be missing out on availability. Several of these "free" coaches are still under contract by their former teams. Woodcroft and Gallant likely are, and, quite frankly, Gallant may have priced himself out of our coaching budget. 

I have said we needed a trophy coach several times. Yet, this team is still not ready for that guy. I don't know that Hynes is that guy, but I think he's pretty solid as a coach so far. The team is playing much better and it appears that changes he's made, while slight, have had a huge effect on the team. 

The main difference between Hynes and Deano is the way they approach coaching. Hynes is more of an Xs & Os guy, while Deano is more a leader of men type. 

So, why didn't somebody scoop up Deano if he's such a great coach? Well, he's still under contract with us. Other teams aren't allowed to talk to him without our permission, and due to the upheaval in our front office, a call for that may go unanswered for the time being. 

If you're just looking at winning % to say which coach is better, I think that's an illusion. Hynes had a rebuilding team in NJ where he cut his teeth. He also had a team to overperform in Nashville. The current construction of the Wild is right in Hynes' wheelhouse it appears. 

I do think that one thing needs to be answered: Are the Wild playing better because the new coach took all the pressure off, or is the new coach actually helping some of the players get better? I'd suggest it's likely a combination of the 2. 

[mnfaninnc]

22 hours ago, MrCheatachu said:

I don't think Russo/Smith pulled that name out of thin air...I'm guessing that name was floated by someone internal to the Wild org.

The CBA is 540 pages long, the MOA is 71.  There should be plenty of lawyers (and internal resources) that should be very well versed into that agreement.  'Capologist' makes it seem like figuring out how to add numbers up and keep it below $82M is something you need an advanced degree to do, and that an excel sheet can't accomplish.

It seems like this AGM role mainly exists to negotiate contracts, rather than figure out how to add to $82M.

But yeah, I'm sure the only qualified candidate is your buddy's kid...🙄

One other aspect of O'Hearn's job was for Guerin to bounce ideas off of him and for him to research the exact financial ramifications of such an idea. I would think that not just any capologist would do for such a position. 

For skills, you'd need some experience in law, accounting, and analytics. But Guerin also seems to want a guy he can trust. That guy probably has Pittsburgh ties. Now, what I'd want is some guy with Yzerman/Brisebois ties and build the relationship. He needs a little diversity in the way things are done.

[mnfaninnc]

18 hours ago, Dean said:

Yesterday when Hearns was out and no info about it other than he was a cap guy. It seemed he probably took hit for extensions. However reading about these outside investigations over a trip to Nashville, it’s definitely about something different.  
    Billy at the Nashville draft took time to thank the local bar for keeping  his staff nice and hydrated. Players always talk about how much they like playing in Nashville for the night life.  So my guess is this is alcohol with some sexual misconduct. It has to be something serious for 2 outside investigations. It may or may not be alcohol but if it isn’t than it’s definitely something worse. Ottawa lost a first round pick  I believe  for screwing up a no move clause.  Hopefully shooters guys didn’t do something stupid to lose a pick.  I guess this is winning culture.  

Sarah McLellan also had some new information. The other investigation was into Guerin, himself. He passed the investigation. So, speculation would be that there was an offense committed by O'Hearn, which will remain private that had them mutually agree to separate. 

Now, one other note on this. Remember that O'Hearn was brought on by Fenton who had his own personal problems in the front office. There could be a connection in character here. O'Hearn was also brought over from AZ where there were other questionable front office things going on. I guess my point/speculation is this might be an accumulation of things catching up with him.