Rolf Nilsen was fined $250K and suspended from hockey operations involvement for 5 years.
That’s one helluva stiff punishment in an amateur hockey league. Unprecedented.
I’m not aware of any legitimate rumblings over the last 5 years about the team or the rink being for sale. Rather, the suspended owner just paid the bills and largely kept his mouth shut. Credit where credit is due — Nilsen didn’t cause problems and the franchise didn’t run on a shoestring budget.
Now, Barclay Branch’s departure was inevitable once the owner’s suspension ended. No owner of a sports team wants his top executive to be someone appointed by the league, let alone the league commissioner’s son. The optics scream, “you need a babysitter because you can’t be trusted.” Why would any sports team owner retain a guy who symbolizes the owner’s previous mistakes? Would you?
Owners always want their own people in charge. It might not be fair, but it happens all the time. Ownership has its privileges. Nilsen brought back Terry Christensen and Branch resigned less than one week later. I’d expect most of Branch’s staff to be gone at some point and for the owner to install his own people. That’s how the hockey business works.
It’s worth remembering that Christensen was not trusted by the players back in 2015-16 because they believed he wanted John Gruden’s head coaching job and undercut him when he could. Maybe Christensen becomes the head coach, too, or perhaps he pushes for his son, Kyle, to join the staff. Regardless, these decisions are the owner’s to make.
Now, don’t get the wrong idea here — I truly wish Rolf Nilsen would just go away from the junior hockey world forever. He makes lousy junior hockey decisions at the best of times. But the franchise is his toy, and provided he doesn’t violate league rules, he can play with it as he wishes.
Infuriating? Yes. But until the league has a legitimate reason to revoke his ownership or force a sale, you’re stuck with him.
