Could the Colorado Avalanche be bringing back another familiar face into their front office?
According to a report from BSNDenver, current Windsor Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel has had discussions about joining the Avalanche front office.
Rychel has a connection with the Avalanche and current general manager Joe Sakic dating back to the 1995-96 team that won the Stanley Cup in its first season in Denver following relocation from Quebec City. After a stint in Anaheim, Rychel returned to the Avalanche to finish his playing career, which ended in 1999.
A three-time Memorial Cup winner as GM of the Spitfires, Rychel has confirmed to Mike Vlasveld of BlackburnNews.com that he is speaking to NHL teams about management positions.
“I live five miles from the rink, I’m part owner of the team, I love dealing with the kids every day, I make my own schedule, I have great scouts, I have great office staff, I love coming here,” he said in a report published Thursday. “So for me to leave, it’s got to be pretty special.”
Despite a dreadful regular season, in which Colorado won only 22 games and finished dead last with 48 points, Avalanche president Josh Kroenke gave Sakic a vote of confidence last month.
Still, it would certainly seem like the Avalanche are trying to add to their front office. Beyond this latest development that they have been talking with Rychel, there were reports only a couple of weeks ago that Colorado had been given permission to speak with Leafs assistant GM Kyle Dubas, an analytics guru.
That has become a completely different story altogether.
The permission granted by the Maple Leafs has reportedly been rescinded, basically because Colorado had interest in hiring Dubas.
According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Maple Leafs did give Colorado permission to speak with Dubas, "...but only because the Maple Leafs believed that they were going to swap philosophical ideas and work on the world of analytics. They did not see Colorado looking at Dubas as a potential hire.”