PWHL Minnesota had what seemed to be a picture-perfect ending to an up-and-down season when they lifted the first-ever Walter Cup. By now everyone knows the almost Cinderella story of how PWHL Minnesota squeaked into the postseason, took down the number one seed PWHL Toronto in five games, and then took the whole thing while on the road in yet another Game 5 this time against PWHL Boston.
What they did was quite miraculous and something others will want to take notes from. The team never lost composure and held to their game, making the recent news of their general manager, Natalie Darwitz being let go, hard to believe for many fans. In this article, we’ll take a quick look at the reason for her departure, where it leaves the team, and what the future will look like, starting with her departure, which the PWHL officially confirmed on Saturday afternoon and was also confirmed by Darwitz herself on Sunday afternoon in a statement posted on X by multiple sources including Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Darwitz Out as Champion’s GM
They’d barely had a week to celebrate when The Athletic’s Russo and Hailey Salvian officially broke the news Thursday night that Darwitz was told she wouldn’t return. A later article by The Athletic’s Russo and Joe Smith stated that all general managers and coaches in the PWHL were on one-year contracts that expire at the end of June. So, the PWHL decided to tell Darwitz early instead of waiting until the end.
While there was no official reason to begin with, the following day, word got out there had been disagreements with Darwitz and PWHL Minnesota head coach Ken Klee, plus a few veteran players, including Kendall Coyne Schofield sided with Klee. Despite them making it work well enough to win a Championship, things weren’t as perfect as everyone made it appear.
Just days before the 2024 PWHL Draft, PWHL Minnesota will be without the general manager who helped build their team, which worked so cohesively to win it all. However, like every professional team, they had another plan until they could find someone to fill her shoes.
Klee Takes the GM Seat
According to that same article, Klee had interviewed for the general manager and head coaching positions but was not initially offered either prior to the season. He didn’t have to wait long, though. One week before the season began, PWHL Minnesota’s original head coach, Charlie Burggraf, left, and they needed a coach, so they gave Klee a call since he’d already been through the process and PWHL Minnesota knew what they were getting (from ‘Inside Natalie Darwitz’s ousting from PWHL Minnesota: Rift with the coach, players taking sides’, The Athletic, 06/07/2024).
Now that Darwitz is gone and the draft is here, Klee will temporarily take over both the coaching and general manager positions. While the PWHL Minnesota staff was clearly able to build a championship team with Darwitz on staff, it’ll be interesting to see how they do without her, being she helped pick players like Taylor Heise, Maddie Rooney, and others.
According to Darwitz, prior to her departure, the morning they did their exit meetings, during their media availability she said, “We have 11 players on multi-year contracts, the rest are all on one-year contracts. We have from June 1st to June 21st to re-sign those one-year players; if they’re not re-signed, they become free agents; any team can pick them up if a team chooses to pick them up, we can certainly match that offer…” She went on to mention Michela Cava earning an extension. Also, she said there are other players they’d like back, but they’re in a “wait and see mode” until after the draft. It’ll be interesting to see who they choose in the draft and how it may have differed from Darwitz’s choices.
PWHL Minnesota has a Busy Offseason
Apart from figuring out who stays and who goes along with making their choices at the draft, the staff for PWHL Minnesota has to find someone to take Darwitz’s place as general manager. Could that come from within their organization, or do they go outside? Klee wanted the job originally. Could they move him up and find another coach?
Related: PWHL Minnesota Shows Dreams Can Come True
He has a good bond with the team, so he may be better off staying in the coaching position, especially after all he did to get them to where they are. While Darwitz helped build the team, Klee helped guide them. He knew how his team worked inside and out, how much time was spent behind the bench, and how he got results. It sounds like they’re planning to find a new GM and having Klee stay where he’s at.
PWHL Minnesota Moves Forward
They barely got a week in of celebrating before everything went upside down regarding their staff. It seemed like they had everything going for them and would possibly be on the way to multiple championships with the team and personnel they’d picked. While that still may be the case, it’ll be interesting to see what PWHL Minnesota does in these next few weeks to start preparing for next season and defending their Walter Cup.
