GM not renewed

SILVERTIPS MOVE IN NEW MANAGEMENT DIRECTION
2012-02-02

EVERETT, WA – Everett Silvertips and Consolidated Sports Holdings President Gary Gelinas today announced that the contract of Silvertips Vice President/General Manager Doug Soetaert would not be renewed and that the search for a new General Manager for the franchise would begin immediately.

“We owe it to our fans and our community to do everything we can to ensure that the Silvertips are a championship-caliber program among the best in the Western Hockey League,” said Gelinas. “To that end, we felt the time was right to pursue a new path and make a change at the General Manager position. Doug’s contract was not going to be renewed past this season, and it’s important for us to start searching for his replacement as soon as possible.”

“This decision was not taken lightly, and we have put in significant time and energy considering where we have been and where we need to go as an organization. We are committed to putting out the best possible product and want to start addressing ways that we can be better.”

The search has begun effective today for the next General Manager of the Silvertips. No specific timeline for filling the position will be set, with Assistant General Manager Zoran Rajcic and Head Coach Mark Ferner combining to handle management duties within the organization in the interim.

“We’re looking for the right person to operate within the right model for our franchise,” Gelinas continued. “Someone who understands junior hockey, how to build our hockey operations and business model while fitting into our team environment. We want to have that person in place sooner rather than later, but the most important thing is for us to find the right person.”

“We’d like to thank Doug for his contributions and years of hard work with the Silvertips. He was a contributing member in helping to launch the team and establish its early success. We wish him the best of luck in the future.”

By Scott Sepich

Soetaert made no secret that the Silvertips were going to be embarking on a complete rebuilding process this season, but it's been hard to tell -- at least from afar -- just what Soetaert's plan was. He opted not to blow up the team this season and actually added more veterans in the weeks leading up to the Christmas break. The Silvertips traded future bantam draft picks for the likes of role players JT Barnett, Josh Caron and Teal Burns (who was released after 15 games). Everett actually traded away more bantam draft picks than it received this season.

Leading up to the trade deadline, Soetaert refused to entertain the notion of trading celebrated defenceman Ryan Murray, a projected top-five pick in the upcoming NHL draft, despite Murray's status as a 1993-born player who may very well spend next season at the next level.

The team's second-best player, goaltender Kent Simpson -- a 19-year-old veteran whose numbers have suffered greatly as the team has declined -- also wasn't moved at the deadline.

The only notable Silvertip who has been traded this season essentially forced Soetaert's hand. Tyler Maxwell, the franchise's all-time leading goal scorer, became so fed up with the team's losing ways in November that he went home to California and asked out of Everett. Soetaert shipped Maxwell to the Edmonton Oil Kings, and the overage sniper is having a big season.

With a full complement of three overagers plus five 1992-born players who all play a prominent role on this year's team, the Silvertips will have some holes to plug going forward -- not necessarily encouraging news for a team that's won 12 of 51 games.

There are some encouraging signs. Rookie Kohl Bauml has emerged recently, collecting 9 goals and 14 points in January. Young 16-year-old goaltender Austin Lotz looks like a promising building block for the future. Defenceman Nick Walters, a 17-year-old, is a potential future team leader.

Beyond that, the Silvertips have a group of young forwards who play hard, but don't score much. Combine that with a group of older returning forwards who also don't score much, and it's tough to see where goals are going to come from next season.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/jrh...105335704.html

The Silvertips need a miricle that Murray returns next season so they can ship him to the Saskatoon Blades early on in the season. This is the only way the Tips will restock the cupboards. If Simpson returns as a 20yr old keeper they could move him too but the return will not be great as virtually every team has a goalie they can move forward with, besides PG.

The moves this GM made this season will hurt his chances of ever being a GM in the WHL again, a team will not risk there franchise with a GM who fails to take notice that his team is going no where & adds players. If he had moved Simpson (altho there wasnt really a market for goalies at trade deadline so the return would of sucked bad) & Murrayhe may of had a new deal handed to him the next day.

From a business standpoint, the Tips will get some good cash if Murray plays in the NHL next year. Not only will he be a 1st round pick but likely a very high pick. It will hurt the Tips in the standings since they won't get anything in a trade, but (I hope) the only reason Soetaert kept him was so that the club would benefit from the transfer money from Murray's future NHL club.