Search for new GM to begin; search for coach to follow?
Feb 14, 2008 - 12:59 PM
By Shawn Cayley
As the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League playoffs get underway this week, the Durham Fury is on the outside looking in.
So with the offseason now the main focus, the first order of business for the Fury will be to commence the search for a new general manager.
When John Annis abruptly resigned last month, Peter Tosh took over on the interim with the intentions of finding a new guy through the offseason.
That time has arrived.
Meanwhile, not only will he need to fill the void upstairs, but it's a real possibility that the head coaching position will become vacant (again) as Grant Musselman's future is in question, by both Tosh and the coach himself.
"I don't really have an answer to that question right now," said Musselman when asked of his future behind the bench after Durham's 5-2 loss to Toronto Tuesday night closed out the regular season. "I enjoy doing it, but it's something... I run my own business and it's a huge commitment to coach."
Musselman says he will take some time before coming to a decision, but that time may only be a couple of weeks as Tosh said there will be a meeting in the near future with club staff to determine the best route in moving forward.
Should Musselman step aside, the logical replacement would be assistant John Winder, who has plenty of previous coaching experience within the ranks. However, Tosh was quick to dispel the notion that the job would just be handed over should the situation arise.
"It's interesting because everyone has assumed that change is going to happen, but it's not going to happen until Grant and I sit down and look at where we're headed," says Tosh. "We'll evaluate it, but John's a great guy and has lots of experience in this league."
Tosh also says there has been some outside interest expressed in the job.
And while the off ice personnel kinks need to ironed out, Tosh is confident in the type of team they'll be able ice next season after suffering through a 13-win campaign this year.
"Absolutely we're disappointed with the whole thing this year, but I think we've kind of sacrificed to look ahead at the future leading up to next year," he says. "We've got some really talented kids here now that want to play hockey and we hope to build off that. We've got a good nucleus to return, and that's what we need. Some stability."
Tosh couldn't have hit the nail on the head any harder. Stability will be the biggest determining factor in the potential success of this organization. The last two years have seen countless ups and downs and change after change.
The guy or guys hired over the offseason to guide this team need to provide the foundation of which they had hoped to have built already.
Let the search begin.
Shawn Cayley's column runs every third week. Email scayley@durhamregion.com
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