CEO You Later

So, big news in Blueland with the firing, uh… I mean resignation of Bernie Mullin. Don’t let them fool you, he was shown the door. Have you ever had a relationship that was mutually ended? No, you haven’t. You were dumped. Bernie was fired. Get over it.

It sounds to me like the CEO position has been downsized, which is kinda weird. Some of the owners of the Atlanta Spirit have been very hands on, which can be a good thing and a bad thing (think Arthur Blank and Jerry Jones on the sidelines when their coaches are trying to coach). Now, Waddell will report to the owners and not Bernie. I’m not really sure what to make of this. Maybe things won’t really change at all. Lots of speculation on the net that this has to do with the Hossa situation. I find that hard to believe (I know, it’s no fun to have a blog and NOT have a conspiracy theory). It is a little strange that last week the owners and Waddell met with Hossa and his agent for 7 hours and Mullin was not there (ok, there is your conspiracy theory).

From the outside looking in it is impossible to say why this move was made. The aspect I am curious about is the timing. Is doing this a few days before the All Star Game really the best move? Also, Bernie’s contract was up at the end of the season. Why not let him finish out the year? Did the Atlanta Spirit think this had to be done before next month’s trade deadline? As you can see I have a lot more questions than I have answers.

On a side note, the Leafs fired John Ferguson Jr. today. So the worst kept secret in hockey finally happened. He really did have a poor tenure in Toronto didn’t he? Anyone who gives $20 million to Pavel Kubina deserves to be in the unemployment line. Not quite Mad Mike Milbury status… but then again who is! Makes you wonder if Paul Maurice can escape the chopping block like he did so many times in Carolina. My guess is he is next. His replacement… how about Hartley? His hometown is just down the road from Toronto and I think he would be a good fit there.

Back to the Thrash, we will have a much better idea of where this franchise is headed at the end of the year… or possibly even in the next month. Sit back and see what happens.