Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin has been investigated after allegations of verbal abuse in the workplace. Michael Russo of the Athletic broke the news just before the Wild’s game against the Calgary Flames at home. After a surprise parting of ways with the Assistant GM earlier this week, this news comes as even more of a blow to a front office already smaller than most NHL teams.
Russo’s sources have pointed to Andrew Heydt as the employee who lodged a complaint for verbal abuse with the HR Department. The alleged event happened in November. Shortly after, an investigation was launched by lawyers from an outside law firm. The investigation into Guerin’s behavior has been completed and the findings were already delivered to ownership and other upper management this week. After the investigation, the Wild management determined that the incident did not reach the level of a fireable offense.
Heydt has been the Wild’s director of team operations and player relations for ten years. He organizes travel and all of the logistics of things like trades and alumni relations. Heydt has been absent since the Wild’s road trip ended after Sunday’s game against the Seattle Kraken.
Besides the parting with Chris O’Hearn earlier in the week, rumblings were starting about Guerin after he was absent from not only Head Coach John Hynes’s first road trip but also the Minnesota Wild Foundation’s Annual Gala where he was supposed to host a preparty with his wife. Instead, Brandon Duhaim and Jake Middleton stepped in to help host the get-together.
There was clarification that the investigation into Guerin was separate from the one that led to parting ways with O’Hearn. The two only ended in the same time frame by coincidence. Hopefully, the results of both investigations won’t affect the Wild, who are already missing valuable pieces of their blue line.
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