Written Sarah McLellan at AZ Central.com
From his post as general manager of the Coyotes the past nine seasons, Don Maloney acquired a reputation of being able to do more with less.
He executed trades, dipped into the free-agent pool and accumulated draft picks like all bosses do, but he stood out among his peers because of the unique working conditions he operated under – namely, three changes in ownership that included a four-year spell as wards of the NHL.
And yet perhaps his most meaningful endeavor was going to be the rebuild he triggered a year ago, a process he now will have to watch unfold from outside the organization.
Maloney’s tenure was cut short Monday as he was fired with two years remaining on his contract.
“He absolutely has done a great job of laying the groundwork for the future,” Coyotes President, CEO and co-owner Anthony LeBlanc said. “However, we believe a change in leadership is needed in order to move our franchise to the next level.”
The move comes two days after the Coyotes wrapped the season, their fourth straight non-playoff finish, but that fact didn’t motivate Maloney’s dismissal, LeBlanc said.
Instead, “a difference in philosophy” emerged in how the team should be managed moving forward with LeBlanc stressing collaboration, communication and analytics as key tenants.
“This wasn’t a decision that we came upon quickly or rushed to judgement,” said LeBlanc, who mentioned the Arizona Cardinals as a model the Coyotes studied in how they want all levels of the organization to interact. “This was something we’ve been thinking about. We’ve been very thoughtful of the approach, and we’ve had many debates internally about what we need to get to the next step as an organization.”
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