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Ottawa 67′s Chris Byrne takes ‘logical step’ of becoming GM, will hire head coach
The number of dual-role coach/general managers in the Ontario Hockey League continues to dwindle, and one cannot say this came entirely as a surprise.
When the Ottawa 67's were bumped out of the playoff picture in the final week of the regular season, it seemed fair to wonder how the storied franchise could maintain the status quo. On Sunday, the 67's became the third Eastern Division team in less than one week to announce a change in leadership, with Chris Byrne stepping back after five years behind the bench to focus on GM duties.
From Tim Baines (@timcbaines):
Byrne will remain as the Ontario Hockey League team's GM, but will step aside from his coaching duties.
“I just think if you look across the league and the CHL, this is the way things are going,” said Byrne early Sunday night, confirming what a reliable source had told the Sun. “For us to compete against the top teams in the league, we had to change. You’re competing with the Mark Hunters of the world. We want to be a better team and we want to compete at the top so this is a logical step for us.
“This gives me an opportunity to be out there as much as the other teams. It’s exciting to be able to focus on providing the talent. Sometimes when you do both jobs, sometimes you feel guilty of not scouting enough, sometimes your mind is wandering out on the ice at practice. This is going to be exciting for me.” (Ottawa Sun)
As Byrne alluded to, one man doing both jobs is on the wane in the OHL. With Mike Vellucci's ascension from the Plydmouth Whalers to the front office of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, Belleville's George Burnett, Mississauga's James Boyd, Niagara's Marty Williamson and North Bay's Stan Butler are the only head coaches who still wear both hats.
Make no mistake, though, this does trace back to Ottawa having successive non-playoff years for the first time in its 46-year history (.382 point pct. this season, .279 during the prior campaign). The '68 road games for the 67's' phase during arena renovations and losing franchise centre Sean Monahan to the Calgary Flames instead of being able to trade him for a motherload of players and picks in January have hurt. The extenuating-circumstances well can only be tapped so often before impatient fans tire of hearing it. Making a coaching change also syncs up with the other elements involved the Ottawa trying to sell hope in 2014-15 — star centre Travis Konecny moving into his NHL draft season and the club returning to TD Place (formerly the Ottawa Civic Centre) after its two-year encampment at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Given that the 67's are graciously conceding as much, splitting the jobs might have been overdue, speaking strictly from a philosophical point of view. The club has only reached the OHL semifinal once since its last Memorial Cup appearance nine seasons ago. That isn't up to par for a strongly supported team that is located in a major city with multiple outlets for players to pursue post-secondary education.
Either way, it means rivals Ottawa and Kingston are both in the coaching market simultaneously. That is a switch.
(Stick taps: @bradcoccimiglio, @loosepucks.)
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.
