Pierre McGuire, A Senator No Longer

The tenure of Pierre McGuire lasted just one year in Ottawa after the Senators late owner hired him last summer.

As much as it came as a surprise when the Ottawa Senators hired Pierre McGuire as senior vice-president of player development July 12, 2021, it was a larger one when TSN1200’s A.J. Jakubec and Steve Lloyd tweeted his firing a mere 10 months later.

An enthusiastic McGuire arrived in Ottawa with the purpose of putting “boots on the ground” to assist with the cultivation of the Senators’ existing prospects and seeking out potential future players.

A member of the NBC Sports broadcasting team, working between the benches, McGuire was seeking a hockey-related position due to NBC losing their rights to the NHL games.

At the time, the then 59-year-old said via his Zoom media availability, “Mr. Melnyk called me out of the blue because I was considering going to another team. And I’m so grateful for that phone call. It was on a Friday before Father’s Day Sunday. From that point on, we’ve been in pretty much constant communication except maybe the last week, where I think he’s taking pity on me because he knows I’m moving.”

“Believe it or not, Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final, it was a Wednesday – I signed my contract the afternoon of that day. You know how hard it is to keep your mouth shut when you sign a contract, Mr. Melnyk said that is not to be told to anybody. I couldn’t tell anybody. I flew home on Thursday. Told my wife that it was done and we’re moving. She put the house on the market right away, and I actually drove to Canada on Friday after getting a Covid test Thursday afternoon after I landed. Then spent time in Tremblant (Quebec). Met Pierre Dorion Sunday for four hours at my home at Tremblant and the press conference was Monday.”

McGuire spent the majority of his short tenure traveling back and forth to Belleville viewing the AHL squad while performing regular scouting assignments.

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It was believed the then 59-year-old inked a three-year contract to do so.

So what went wrong?

There was a key misstep right of the gate.

McGuire commented he was hired to be the face of the franchise when it came to media availability.

“There’s no question; it is part of the role. That’s something that Mr. Melnyk talked about when we met for the first two or three times via phone conversation. So yes, it’s definitely part of it. And I appreciate that. That’s something I’m comfortable with. I made my living do that for the past 20 years.”

This never came to fruition. In fact, McGuire rarely spoke publicly all season, if at all.

So what actually occurred for McGuire to be let go?

We may never know. It could be generally bad advice supplied to the Senators’ GM over time or just a general disagreement of philosophy. Whatever it was, the team’s Board of Governors were literally on “board” with the decision to relieve McGuire of his final two years of his contract.

But for now, all we have is this via the Ottawa Senators:

“We thank Pierre for his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavours.”