Natalie Darwitz’s departure from PWHL Minnesota came after a review of the team’s operations, the PWHL’s vice president of hockey operations, Jayna Hefford, said on a Saturday media call.
Hefford said the league has conducted reviews in all six league markets throughout the season to ensure a level of professionalism. She would not go into specifics of the reviews or what was uncovered in Minnesota, beyond “that a change needed to be made.”
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“For organizations to be successful, operations need to run relatively smoothly. The high standards of this league need to exist. And as a leader, often those things fall on you. There’s a lot of things we looked at. Over the course of these reviews and the work we did throughout the season, it just became very clear from different parties that this wasn’t going to be able to move forward as it stood.”
The review, conducted by the league and an external consulting firm, Hefford said, involved discussions with “all stakeholders,” including players, staff and league-level support.
“The feedback to us was pretty direct and pretty clear that there wasn’t a path forward with the current personnel in place,” Hefford said.
The PWHL officially announced on Saturday that the league and PWHL Minnesota have parted ways with Darwitz “effective immediately.” The Athletic first reported that Darwitz would leave the organization she led to the league’s first-ever Walter Cup championship on Thursday night.
On Sunday, Darwitz released a statement about her exit from the team: “I would like to thank the State of Hockey for their support of PWHL Minnesota. As the General Manager of PWHL Minnesota, I gave my heart and soul to provide a first-class experience to the players, staff and fans. My goal was to grow the game of women’s hockey and to show young girls their dream could become a reality.
“I am very proud of the team and organization that was built and the championship we brought home to this great State of Hockey. At this time, I am not able to provide any details regarding my departure.”
The Athletic reported on Friday night that Darwitz’s departure was the result of a rift with head coach Ken Klee, with a handful of veteran players in Klee’s camp and others in Darwitz’s.
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No players reached by The Athletic on Friday were willing to comment on the record about the situation. One player, on the condition of anonymity, called Darwitz an “incredible support system” over the course of a “really tough” season.
“She was a terrific advocate, fantastic voice of reason and fair boss,” the player said. “I’m incredibly shocked she’s leaving because frankly, I can’t imagine anyone else filling her shoes.”
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Hefford dismissed the suggestion that Darwitz’s departure was solely the result of a rift between the GM, players and coach.
“It didn’t come down to one person or two people or three people,” she said. “It was a long process, and a really deep dive into what was going on in the market. There’s a ton of factors that play into a really big decision like this. And it wasn’t easy.”
A source briefed on the situation confirmed there was dysfunction within the team, which is why the league felt a leadership change was necessary in Minnesota.
Darwitz, 40, was hired in September 2023 to lead Minnesota heading into its inaugural season. According to multiple team sources, Darwitz was told earlier this week she would not be back as general manager for the 2024-25 season. The league discussed alternative options with Darwitz, the sources said, that included a potential job within the league, or putting out a statement saying that she had chosen to move on, the team source said.
Klee, who was hired after Charlie Burggraf resigned a week before the season started, and his coaching staff will make the team’s player selections at the upcoming PWHL Draft, which is being hosted in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday night.
Klee will not be named interim general manager as the league conducts a GM search in the coming weeks, but he will effectively take on all those duties until a new GM is hired. The extension window for players to re-up with their current team opened on June 1 and league-wide free agency begins on June 21.
“We may have a general manager in place by free agency,” Hefford said.
That the league is searching for a new general manager just 10 days after Minnesota won the championship is a shocking development, and the process that led to her dismissal is unorthodox. In traditional pro sports leagues, such decisions would be made by franchise ownership; in the PWHL, they come from the league office, since every team is owned by Mark Walter, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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“Timing is never perfect,” said Hefford. “This team accomplished an incredible feat by winning a championship. … This was a decision that had to be made in the best interest of the league and the team.”
Darwitz is a hockey legend in Minnesota who was known as a hands-on GM and built a championship-winning team from scratch. Team staff close to Darwitz reached earlier this week said the news of her departure was “shocking.”
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“Besides building it from the bottom and setting everything up and drafting and signing the players that led us to a championship, she spent hours and hours doing everything — waking up at 4 a.m., moving equipment to the rink, hanging dirty equipment, unpacking bags, stuff like that. I mean, stuff GMs don’t do,” one team source told The Athletic on Thursday. “(It’s) a real shame.”
(Photo courtesy of the PWHL)
