If you’re a WHL fan, a document that is in circulation on the Internet provides a brief but interesting glimpse of the coaching game. The document is the lawsuit – for breach of contract, promissory estoppel and wage claim – filed by former Portland Winter Hawks head coach Mike Williamson against the Portland Winter Hawks, Inc. The lawsuit was filed May 16 in circuit court in Multnomah County.
Williamson had been with the Winter Hawks, in various roles, since the summer of 1991 when his contract wasn’t renewed last summer. He was on a two-year contract that expired June 30, 2007. Williamson claims agreement was reached June 27, 2007, on a one-year deal that, were certain conditions reached, could have grown into a two- or three-year deal.
According to the lawsuit, Williamson, thinking agreement had been reached, “worked for Defendant starting July 1, 2007, until his employment was terminated effective July 17, 2007. Defendant’s termination of Plaintiff’s employment after 17 days of employment was breach of the employment contract, which guaranteed Plaintiff’s first year of employment.
“As a result of Defendant’s breach of the employment contract Plaintiff suffered economic loss in the sum of $80,000, less payments received of $8,499.99, for lost wages; $9,779.40 for health insurance not provided, less $1,629.90 paid by Defendant; and the value of internet service at home which is alleged to have a yearly value of $680; plus prejudgment interest at the legal rate of nine per cent per annum from July 17, 2007.”
The most-interesting document in the lawsuit is what appears to be an e-mail sent by Jack Donovan, one of the Winter Hawks owners who also is governor and president, to himself. Printed at the top is: Business terms to be incorporated in employment contract.
Five type-written paragraphs follow:
“First year guaranteed.
“A fourth-place finish in the conference or a first-round advance triggers a second year, guarantee automatically.
“A first-place finish in the division and/or a second in conference triggers a third-year guarantee and an additional bonus ($4,000 for first or $2,000 for second in conference standings).
”If we get control of the MC, all playoff bonuses will be $4,000 per round.
“Regular playoff bonus structure for the playoffs shall be $2,000 for the first round and $4,000 for all other rounds and winning the Memorial Cup.”
And then there are six paragraphs printed in ink, each prefaced by an asterisk:
*Base contract is 80k per annum for all years.
*Health Ins.
*PPS of company puts one in play.
*Internet connection in home.
*Plus above guarantee and bonuses.
*If team moves contract is cancelable by employee – by notice to employer after completion of season.
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That last page is initialed by Williamson and co-owner/CEO Jim Goldsmith, with both men having dated it June 27, 2007.
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Indications are that a standard contract never was drawn up so Williamson’s lawsuit may rest on the strength of that last page as a legal document. . . . It will be interesting to see what happens if this ever reaches the inside of a courtroom. But for an interested observer, perhaps the most interesting part of it all is the very last line – “If the team moves contract is cancelable . . . “ . . . Does that mean the owners, who already had dumped a lot of their front-office staff in a cost-cutting move, were thinking of (a) moving the franchise, (b) selling the franchise to someone who was prepared to move it, or (c) simply covering all their options?
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THE COACHING/SCOUTING GAME: A reader sends along a note about a coaching hire that I missed. Colin O’Hara, who played in the WHL with Swift Current and Medicine Hat (1995-97) is the new GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. O’Hara, 31, spent last season as an assistant coach under Mark Ferner with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. O’Hara actually left the Vipers for an assistant-coaching position with the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers but then moved on to Nipawin. . . .
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Jeff Bromley of the Kootenay News-Advertiser broke the news early in the week that the Cranbrook-based Kootenay Ice has invoked the attendance clause in its lease with the city, which now controls the Rec Plex. The Ice is eight years into a 15-year lease. Under the clause, the Ice can get out of its lease if attendance falls below 2,800 for two consecutive seasons. Last season, including playoffs, Bromley writes that “reports have put the actual paid attendance for last season at 2770 per game, including playoffs.” . . . Of course, none of this means the Ice is on the way out of Dodge; it just means Ice general manager Jeff Chynoweth is keeping the franchise’s options open. But, in talking with Bromley, Chynoweth sounds a little more frustrated and serious than at any time in the recent past. "It's a big concern to us," Chynoweth said. "We're down 11 per cent the last two seasons and that's after a 49-win season and a 42-win season. If you're down that much and you're winning, what does that say when we have an off-year?
Everyone knows that junior hockey is a cyclical business and we're
all going to have off years at one time or another. Fortunately, we
haven't had that yet during our 10 years in Cranbrook. We think we have 2,500-2,600 of the best fans in the entire CHL; unfortunately, it's not enough to make a go of it." . . . So let the speculation begin. . . . Victoria. . . . Nanaimo. . . . How about Salem, Oregon? . . . Actually, the Ice and the city of Cranbrook are in lease negotiations now. "We've had some good conversation,” Chynoweth told Bromley. “Hopefully, we'll have something at the end of the summer that we can announce that will work for both parties."
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If you haven’t yet read Phil Taylor’s column on Page 144 of the July 14-21 issue of Sports Illustrated, you owe it to yourself to give it a look. Nothing I have read lately sums up the state of sports, all sports, moreso than this column, which carries this headline: The Day Cool Died. . . . And, no, it has nothing to do with Wynton Marsalis or Charlie Parker. . . .
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And if you’re really looking for a chuckle, check out this blog where it’s pointed out that the NHL is experiencing a shortage of Dicks.
