Natalie Darwitz’s tenure as general manager of PWHL champion Minnesota franchise following an internal and external review, vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said Saturday.
Without going into detail about the findings, which included input from players and staff, Hefford called the decision difficult but ultimately necessary for the betterment of the PWHL.
“The feedback to us was pretty straightforward and pretty clear that there was no path forward with the current personnel in place,” Hefford said during a Zoom interview with select members of the media. “It was with the work we did throughout the year and it became clear that a change needed to be made.”
Hefford said the decision involved more than one person and was part of a year-long process when asked if bad blood escalated throughout the season between Darwitz and coach Ken Klee.
The decision to part ways with Darwitz is solely the PWHL’s because it operates all six franchises and employs its staff and coaches.
A person familiar with the situation confirmed a report from The Athletic about a feud between Darwitz and Klee, adding that team captain Kendall Coyne Schofield sided with the coach. The person also said that members of the PWHL’s human resources department met with Minnesota players last month to discuss Darwitz’s management style.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not revealed those details.
Klee declined to comment in a text message to the AP. He will continue his role as coach and serve as interim GM overseeing Minnesota’s selections in Monday’s draft.
The decision to remove Darwitz is stunning in terms of timing and importance following the conclusion of the PWHL’s first season.
Darwitz assembled the team that won the PWHL’s first championship with a 3–0 victory over Boston in the deciding Game 5 on May 29. Minnesota reached the final by rallying from a 2–0 deficit in the first round of the series to beat regular season champion Toronto in a best-of-five playoff final. Darwitz’s firing also comes days before Minnesota hosts the second PWHL draft on Monday.
Darwitz, 40, is one of the most recognizable faces in Minnesota hockey. Paul, she is a three-time U.S. Olympian, three-time world champion and was part of a University of Minnesota team that won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2004 and 2005.
This year, she was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation’s hall of fame.
“We fully recognize Natalie Darwitz’s iconic status in the state of Minnesota. Her incredible contributions to the PWHL, to building a championship team,” said Hefford. “And this is certainly not something we could have predicted or wanted to happen. But this caused us and Natalie to split up.”
Klee is a former NHL defenseman who had experience coaching the United States women’s national team. He took over as Minnesota coach in late December to replace Charlie Burggraf, who stepped down citing family reasons.
Klee had previously been a finalist for both a PWHL coaching position and a GM position.
Darwitz was hired in September and signed a one-year contract, standard for each of the six GMs and coaches in the centralized league. She then fueled her programming with a distinct local flavor representative of Minnesota’s rich hockey roots.
___
AP Women’s Hockey:
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
