More Worcester Sharks Firings: Blood In The Water

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Steven Jones-D’Agostino, GoLocalWorcester Business/News Contributor

Is there blood in the water after the latest firing in Worcester at the Sharks? Time will tell.

Yet another front-office firing has befallen the Worcester Sharks. On June 28, Michael Mudd became the latest casualty. A spokesman for the local pro-hockey team says he doesn’t expect any more local heads to roll between now and October, the start of the 2013-’14 season.

Shortly after German tech billionaire Hasso Plattner assumed sole ownership of the San Jose Sharks pro-hockey organization last January, he spoke with the San Jose Mercury News. At the time, the Sharks organization had posted a 2011-’12 season loss of $15 million, and projected red ink for the ’12-’13 season, which ended recently, to be "substantially higher than $15 million."

Plattner has built his substantial wealth in the computer-software sector over the past four decades. It came as no surprise, therefore, that he “didn’t see a dire situation ahead for the NHL franchise, which typically spends at or near the salary cap despite some financial hardships of the past few seasons,” according to the News. He “boasts of his good line of credit and deep pockets, telling team officials and employees they should not be worried about the team.”

Sharks officials and employees may not need to worry about the team. But they should make sure to update their resumes. While Plattner does not expect make money off the Sharks, it’s a sure bet he doesn’t want to lose a lot, either. After all, that’s how he became one of the richest people on the planet.

No more heads to roll – for now

Mudd, who reportedly says he was “shocked” by his ouster and “proud” of the Worcester team, isn’t the first Sharks executive in recent weeks to be shown the door. Three others departed ahead of him.

Is the firing of Sharks CEO Michael Mudd the last of the purge?

In May, Mike Lehr, whom Mudd succeeded in 2010 as president and CEO of the Worcester team, resigned as executive vice president of the parent organization. Lehr was joined at the time by EVP and CFO Charlie Faas and EVP Malcolm Bordelon.

These days, Plattner’s new right-hand man, John Tortora, appears to be calling the Sharks’ operational shots. In May, Plattner tapped Tortora, then general counsel of the Sharks organization, to fill the brand new post of COO. The San Jose Sharks reportedly stated they had “approved a new organizational model designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its business and hockey operations."

Mudd’s departure as president of the local team came, according to a June 28 Worcester Sharks news release, “as the [Sharks] organization continues to move towards a more simplified business model and re-evaluate their operations. In the near term, John Tortora will oversee the organization’s business operations. In addition, Tortora will serve as the [Worcester] franchise’s governor to the American Hockey League.” Plattner joined the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors soon after taking over sole ownership of the Sharks business.

The same release quoted Tortora saying of the parent company “Sharks Sports & Entertainment would like to thank Mike [Mudd] for his many years of service to our organization, dating back to its years in Cleveland” with the Barons, which relocated to Worcester in 2006. “We wish him and his family the best moving forward.”

On July 1, GoLocalWorcester contacted Eric Lindquist, director of public relations and broadcasting for the Worcester Sharks, to see whether Tortora was available for comment. “The NHL draft was yesterday and most of the [Sharks organization] staff was traveling yesterday,” Lindquist responded. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to get anyone today. … Today’s the start of free agency in the NHL. This is not at the top of their priority list, for sure.”

However, Lindquist does report that Tortora met on June 28 in Worcester with City Manager Michael O’Brien and Sandra Dunn, general manager of the DCU Center, which is home ice for the Worcester Sharks. “I think [Tortora] shared with [O’Brien and Dunn] some of the answers that you’re [seeking]: Why the changes were made, and what we’re doing to move forward,” he says.

Asked how the Worcester staff has reacted to Mudd’s departure, Lindquist responds, “Mike Mudd was well liked and well received in the community. I’m sure there are questions of why and where we are, going looking forward. In Worcester, it’s business as usual. It’s a streamlining of business communications between Worcester and San Jose.” Are any more Worcester heads expected to roll? “No, no, nope,” Lindquist says.

Lindquist maintains these leadership changes are not occurring because the Sharks organization is losing millions of dollars and the Worcester team missing the AHL playoffs again this year – the third year in a row. “No, honestly, they made a change in San Jose three to four weeks ago, with some executives [there], and changes [were made in Worcester] as well,” he says. Were the changes made mostly to streamline the Sharks organization? “Yes, yes, yup,” he says.

Lindquist sidesteps the question of whether Tortora will permanently take on the leadership role in Worcester. “He’s going to oversee the business operations for the immediate future and will operate as our governor [with the American Hockey League],” Lindquist says. Will a permanent president be named for Worcester? “That would be something you’d have to talk with [Tortora] about,” he says.

Both the San Jose Sharks and the City Manager’s Office have yet to respond to requests for interviews.

As much the intangible as the actual dollars

Echoing Eric Lindquist, is Sandy Dunn, of the DCU Center. Like the Sharks’ Worcester staff, she laments Michael Mudd’s sudden departure and praises his accomplishments.

Commenting on her June 28 meeting with the Sharks’ John Tortora and City Manager Mike O’Brien, Dunn says, “Clearly, what [the Sharks] are representing to us is that Mike [Mudd] was terrific … . But they have had a change of ownership and looked at the business operations … and decided to make some changes that resulted in streamlining the organization and having more direct reports [to San Jose].”

Dunn credits Mudd with having done “ a terrific job of creating a great staff. … Ticket sales are up and sponsorship sales are up. … So he had moved the organization forward financially in the three years he had been president, and we expect that to continue.”

The Sharks are not, according to Dunn, a cash cow for the DCU Center. “We see [the Sharks] as stability in the [DCU Center’s] seasonal calendar. … From a pure economy standpoint, those dollars [the Sharks pay to play at the DCU Center] aren’t incredibly significant. For me, it’s more about the stability of the calendar and the [team’s] incredible involvement in the community. … It’s as much the intangible as it is the actual dollars.”

According to Dunn, San Jose does not expect to replace Mudd as president of Worcester operations. “They intend to have this more seamless connection to San Jose with the staff here [in Worcester],” she adds. “The really good news is, this is a really good staff [in Worcester]. … The front-office team will move everything forward, and they have been [doing just that]. John [Tortora] doesn’t expect any hiccups. …” She adds that Tortora represented in his meeting with her and O’Brien that “there are no other changes to be made.”

Dunn does not seem surprised by the Sharks shakeup in both Worcester and San Jose. “We did known a year ago that some of the [other non-hockey] business that San Jose had been in, they were wrapping up or shutting down,” she says. “So we do know there was a focus on the core business, so I see those [management changes] as a continuation of that.”

Steven Jones-D'Agostino is chief pilot of Best Rate of Climb: Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media and Radio Production.