Minnesota Wild Investigates Verbal Abuse Allegations Against Bill Guerin

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Bill Guerin, the president of hockey operations and general manager for the Minnesota Wild, is under investigation following a human resources complaint by an employee who alleged verbal abuse in the workplace, according to five team and league sources confirmed by The Athletic.

Investigation Details

The alleged incident that prompted the investigation occurred in late November and was reported to the team’s HR department. An outside law firm was commissioned to conduct the investigation, which involved interviewing over 15 members of the organization.

According to two team sources, the investigation into Guerin’s behavior has been completed, and the findings were delivered to upper management and ownership earlier this week. Wild management determined that Guerin’s actions did not warrant termination.

During the investigation, Guerin did not attend the NHL’s Board of Governors meeting in Seattle or the Wild’s four-game road trip to western Canada and Seattle. This absence was notable as it coincided with new coach John Hynes’ first long road trip with the team.

Guerin has not responded to requests for comment.

Wild’s Response

The Minnesota Wild declined to disclose specific details of the investigations but released a statement to The Athletic: “The Minnesota Wild takes its code of conduct seriously. We recently concluded two separate investigations into alleged violations of that code of conduct and have taken appropriate steps to address the matters raised. The club will not comment further.”

Assistant GM Departure

The news of the investigation into Guerin comes shortly after the Wild announced that they had mutually agreed to part ways with assistant general manager Chris O’Hearn following a separate probe. Team sources have stated that the timing of the two investigations concluding simultaneously is coincidental.

NHL’s Response

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that he and commissioner Gary Bettman have been briefed on the investigations and are satisfied with the resolutions.

Complaint Filer

The employee who filed the complaint is Andrew Heydt, the Wild’s director of team operations and player relations. Heydt has been in this role for 10 years and oversees team travel, logistics, and player and alumni relations.

Heydt has been absent from work in recent days after traveling with the team on their most recent road trip. He interacts with Guerin on a daily basis.

During Thursday’s morning skate, neither Heydt nor Guerin were present. Captain Jared Spurgeon and defenseman Alex Goligoski were also absent. Mat Sells, the Wild’s vice president of hockey strategy and analytics expert, was the only front-office representative present.

— Joe Smith contributed to this report.

(Photo: Nick Wosika / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)