Columbus Blue Jackets president Mike Priest responds to fan backlash
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It’s been a tough offseason for the Blue Jackets, who’ve been putting out fires ever since it became public in late June that stars Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko weren’t planning to stay long-term.
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There have also been lengthy negotiations with key restricted free agents. Jet Greaves and Cole Sillinger nearly reached arbitration hearings, and Adam Fantilli remains unsigned, so it’s been a battle for president/general manager Don Waddell to keep the arrow pointed in the right direction.
And that’s just the hockey side.
The Blue Jackets' business side is also taking hits with decisions to part ways with longtime radio voice Bob McElligott and team reporter Jeff Svoboda, who’d become team ambassadors in their respective roles. Those moves followed on the heels of the Jackets announcing their TV broadcast will shift from FanDuel to an NHL Productions product.
The TV broadcast will now be simulcast on the radio, which led to McElligott's departure. It’s a lot to process, and the initial backlash wasn’t pretty. Fans have clamored to hear somebody in the team’s hierarchy explain the rationale for those decisions, and The Dispatch now has a statement from team president/CEO Mike Priest.
Here are Priest's thoughts on the Jackets' recent shakeup:
“We are grateful for the passion and support of our fans and understand the emotions surrounding these changes. As our business continues to evolve, we must adapt to a changing industry, particularly when it comes to how fans are consuming our games and content. This is critical for our ability to address the challenges and meet the opportunities that have come with that evolution.
"Our business is like many others in that to move forward, you must make difficult decisions that affect good people. Those decisions aren’t made lightly, and we do everything we can to ease the transition when valued members of our team leave the organization.
"We are working every day to improve on and off the ice and the changes being made to our broadcast and content areas will help us better serve our fans and bring them closer to our team as we move forward. We know our fans expect more, and so do we. Their support means everything to us and is never taken for granted.”
Training camp is a month away.
Dispatch Blue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets president Mike Priest responds to fan backlash