Photo: Bildbyrån
Chris Abbott is leaving HV71 for the NHL this spring. Already now, the Jönköping club may have completed a replacement.
It is rumored that Södertälje’s sporting director Emil Georgsson will take over.
– We are in this process now and have held some meetings, that’s how it is, says club director Richard Nylin to Jönköpings-Posten.
He certainly took the opportunity when it presented itself. Chris Abbott40, has secured a job with the NHL team Carolina Hurricanes for next season. It is thus already clear that the general manager, who signed for HV71 ahead of this season, is leaving after his first year at the club.
The experts’ criticism of Abbott
The decision has not been well received by either fans or various professionals. The TV4 expert Sanny Lindstrom think that HV71 managed the whole thing extremely poorly.
– The more I have marinated this, the more unprofessional it becomes for me that HV71 chooses to give Abbott a clause to leave after one year on his contract. Now everything is razed – this is really bad from HV71, he has said.
ADVERTISEMENT: Compete for a unique winter experience in the Swedish rally!
Per Svartvadet was also recently aware that Abbott’s behavior is reprehensible.
– If you write for three years, then you stay for three years if you don’t get fired. This tastes very bad in my mouth, I think, the way he has acted actually, he has said on the TV4 Hockey podcast.
In the three weeks that have now passed since it became clear that Abbott will leave the club after the season, HV71’s management has been looking for a replacement. Club director Richard Nylin has told Jönköpings-Posten that they want someone with exactly the same position as Chris Abbott, i.e. general manager.
– Yes, we feel that it is a general manager that we are looking for. We want a person in place who will be given overall responsibility for the sporting side of the club, he says.
READ MORE: Per Svartvadet criticizes Chris Abbott and HV71
READ MORE: Sanny Lindström saws HV71 for the handling of Chris Abbott
Looking in the hockey Allsvenskan
Now Sportbladet writes that HV71 has met Södertälje’s sports manager Emil Georgsson and that he is high on their list. His three-year contract with SSK expires after the season and he has not extended. There has been talk that he would only be offered one year by Södertälje, which could indicate that they have other plans further down the line.
The fact that Georgsson lives in Västervik rather than in Södertälje in particular could indicate that he is happy to change jobs. To JP, Richard Nylin confirms that they have met with possible replacements for Chris Abbott.
– We are in this process now and have held a number of meetings, that’s how it is. In the work that we are now in, we do not want to comment on any names at all. We are working on finding the best possible name and are now probing the terrain to come up with this one, he says.
After 15 rounds played in the hockey Allsvenskan, Södertälje is in second place, just one point behind Björklöven. Karlskoga, Oskarshamn and Djurgården shadow the team. After the success in the second division, it is no wonder that bigger clubs hear about Georgsson. In a text message to JP, he writes that he does not want to reveal whether he met HV71, but he admits:
“It’s obviously flattering to be mentioned in that kind of speculation.”
It will be interesting to see if Georgsson moves to HV71 and if so when it is confirmed by the clubs. It simply remains to be seen.
Share