By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders fire coach despite financial issues

Oct 31, 2014 | 4:52 PM

It’s no question that the Prince Albert Raiders are in financial difficulty. Last year alone, the Raiders reported a loss of $262,680 and are operating under a deficit of $394,819.

But that didn’t stop them for firing Raiders head coach Cory Clouston.

By letting Clouston go, the team still has to pay him until his contract ends at the end of this season and then hire a new head coach—and pay him, too.

That means for the rest of the year, the Raiders will have to pay two head coaches’ salaries to carry out that one position. That could be a significant expense, especially considering the debt the Raiders are already under.

“It’s a fair question, but we’ll find ways to get through it,” said Bruno Campese, general manager of the Raiders. “We’ll obviously pay Cory the term of his contract and we’ll have to pay another guy.

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“The board felt that it’s something they could handle.”

Back in 2012, the Raiders entered a $1.5 million line of credit with by successful businessman Gord Broda, who’s also the Raiders’ vice president. Team president Dale McFee has said repeatedly that dipping into that is a last resort, but it can be something to fall back on.

Hiring a new head coach is necessary, because now that Clouston is out of the picture, that only leaves two coaches on the Raiders at the moment—associate coach Dave Manson and assistant coach Kelly Guard.

Manson will be the head coach on an interim basis until a replacement is found. Guard was promoted to assistant from goaltending/strength and condition coach when former assistant coach Tim Leonard left the team in September.

Campese was initially hired by the Raiders as their head coach in 2007 and also took over the general manager job that season when Donn Clark was let go. Although Campese coached the team until 2011, he did not plan on returning behind the bench, even on an interim basis.

“No, that was never a consideration,” said Campese. “I just felt that in the best interest of the team, my interest was to manage the team and not worry about the coaching part of it.

“Dave is more than capable of handling it for the moment, he has a lot of experience but we don’t want to drag this out. We’re hoping to have a solution here quickly within the next day or two.”

Campese will hope to find stability in his new hire, as the Raiders’ coaching position has been fluid since Campese relinquished his head coaching duties in 2011. Since then, Steve Young was the head coach until the 2013 season ended, then Clouston took over.

“We don’t like to make a habit of changing coaches here,” said Campese. “It started with me when I decided it was time to split the job and we’ve gone through two others.

“It’s not an ideal situation by any stretch, but I mean, we’re hoping to find a fit that turns into a long-term fit.”

Manson in the meantime

The Raiders don’t have a whole lot of time to sit and sulk, or even reflect what has happened. They have a game Friday against the Moose Jaw Warriors on the road and then again on Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre against the Saskatoon Blades.

It will be up to Manson to try and get the Raiders ready quickly.

An important message from him to the players was simply to relax and play their game on a clean slate, despite all the off-ice distractions.

“For some maybe it was hard to play, now they just have to relax and play and turn the page,” said Manson. “There’s a lot more at stake than maybe what they realized at first.

“I think the biggest thing for them is to relax, play and see what happens in the end.”

On the same night Manson is making his WHL head coaching debut, his son Josh is playing his first ever NHL game as a member of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday against the Dallas Stars.

Clouston could not be reached for an interview.

Tune in to 900 CKBI tonight for live coverage between the Raiders and the Warriors starting at 6:30 p.m., as well as full interviews with Campese, Manson and Raider captain Josh Morrissey.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea