Wild, assistant GM Chris O’Hearn ‘mutually agree to part ways’

The Minnesota Wild revealed a shocking development in their front office Wednesday, confirming to The Athletic that Chris O’Hearn, Bill Guerin’s right-hand man since he was named general manager in August 2019, is no longer employed by the organization.

In a brief statement, the Wild said, “Chris O’Hearn and the Minnesota Wild have mutually agreed to part ways. The Wild will not comment further on this matter.”

Guerin did not reply to multiple texts for further comment.

There were no signs that this could be coming. When Guerin did not accompany the Wild on their recent four-game road trip, O’Hearn was the team’s front-office representative and showed no signs that something was amiss. In fact, even as recently as Sunday’s game in Seattle, O’Hearn was counting dollars and cents to determine when the team would need to place defenseman Jonas Brodin on long-term injured reserve.

Originally hired in the summer of 2019 by Paul Fenton to be director of hockey operations, O’Hearn was the Wild’s chief contract negotiator and expert on all transactional and collective bargaining agreement issues.

This leaves a hole in the team’s front office, with vice president of hockey strategy Mat Sells and assistant to the GM Mike Murray, who doubles as Iowa’s GM, the only members left part of Guerin’s inner circle.

It’s unclear who will assume O’Hearn’s day-to-day role in the short-term.

Adding further credence to the unexpectedness of this move, O’Hearn, 41, recently signed a new contract with the Wild, per a league source.

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(Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Wild)